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HAROLD   JACOBY,   PH.D. 

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Copyright,  1907,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  reserved. 
Published  April,  1907. 


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When  I  heard  the  learned  astronomer, 

When  the  -proofs,  the  figures,  were   ranged  in  columns 

before  me, 
When  I  was  shown  the  charts  and  diagrams,  to  add, 

divide,  and  measure  them, 
When  I  sitting  heard  the  astronomer  where  he  lectured 

with  much  applause  in  the  lecture-room, 
How  soon  unaccountable  I  became  tired  and  sick, 
Till  rising  and  gliding  out  I  wandered  off  by  myself, 
In  the  mystical  moist  night-air,  and  from  time  to  time, 
Looked  up  in  perfect  silence  at  the  stars. 

WALT  WHITMAN. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION i 

I.  THE  RISING  AND  THE  SETTING  OF  THE 

STARS 8 

II.  CONCERNING  THE  BRIGHTEST  STARS  .     .  17 

III.  CAPELLA 30 

IV.  ARCTURUS 37 

V.  SPICA 44 

VI.  VEGA 48 

VII.  DENEB,  OR  ARIDED 55 

VIII.  ALTAIR 63 

IX.  ANTARES 71 

X.  FOMALHAUT 78 

XI.  ALDEBARAN 83 

XII.  ORION'S  BRIGHT  STARS 89 

XIII.  THE  HEAVENLY  TWINS 98 

XIV.  THE  Two  DOG  STARS 106 

XV.  REGULUS 117 

XVI.  THE  NUMBER  OF  THE  STARS     ....  123 

XVII.  THE  NAMES  OF  THE  STARS 130 

XVIII.  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  STARS 138 

XIX.  THE  DISTANCES  OF  THE  STARS     .     .     .  148 

XX.  DOUBLE  STARS 162 

vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  pAGE 

XXI.  THE  CONSTELLATIONS 177 

XXII.  THE  LITTLE  BEAR  AND  POLARIS     .     .     182 

XXIII.  THE    GREAT    BEAR    AND   THE    SEVEN 

STARS  OF  THE  DIPPER    ....     188 

XXIV.  CASSIOPEIA,       CEPHEUS,      AND      THE 

DRAGON 197 

XXV.  FROM    THE    HUNTING -DOGS    TO    THE 

ARROW — CANES  VENATICI    .     .     .     202 

XXVI.  FROM   THE    WINGED    HORSE    TO   THE 

BULL 209 

XXVII.  THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  PLEIADES   .     .     219 

XXVIII.  FROM     THE     TWINS     BACK     TO     THE 

HUNTER 230 

XXIX.  CONSTELLATIONS  WHOLLY  OR  IN  PART 

SOUTH  OF  THE  EQUATOR     .     .     .     234 

XXX.  INDIVIDUALITY  OF  THE  STARS     .     .     .     247 
INDEX 255 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

THE    BIG    DIPPER 22 

RELATIVE  POSITION  OP  THE  NORTH  STAR  AND  THE 

DIPPER 24 

VEGA  AS  SHE  APPEARS  IN  THE  EAST 50 

VEGA  AND  HER  ATTENDANT  STARS  IN  THE  NORTH- 
WEST     , 51 

TRIANGLE  FORMED  BY  POLARIS,  DENEB,  AND  VEGA  57 

THE    NORTHERN    CROSS 58 

ALTAIR    AND    ITS    TWO    COMPANIONS 64 

DENEB,    ALTAIR,    AND    VEGA 65 

THE    DOLPHIN,    OR    JOB'S    COFFIN 66 

SCORPIUS            72 

FOMALHAUT 79 

THE    HYADES           84 

ORION 90 

THE    SICKLE Il8 

PLATE     I. CONSTELLATIONS    AROUND   THE    NORTH 

POLE Facing  p.  182 

THE    LITTLE    DIPPER l86 

THE    SEVEN    STARS    OF    THE    DIPPER 190 

CASSIOPEIA 198 

ix 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

PLATE       II. THE       MIDDLE       SECTION       OF       THE 

SKY Facing  p.  2O2 

HERCULES 205 

ANDROMEDA,  THE    SQUARE    OF   PEGASUS,  AND   THE 

SEGMENT    OF    PERSEUS 212 

THE    PLEIADES 221 

LEO    OR    THE    LION 232 

LIBRA    OR    THE    SCALES 235 

THE    MILK    DIPPER 237 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE 

CT'HE  stars  are  here  marshalled  before  us 
J-  in  a  new  and  engaging  manner;  not  as 
austere  unchanging  beacons  of  the  universe; 
not  as  mere  material  for  vivifying  the  results 
of  profound  mathematical  analysis;  but  rather 
as  they  must  have  seemed  to  the  herdsmen  of 
old,  and  as  they  should  appear  to  all  who  love 
the  open  air — rising  constellation  after  constel- 
lation, nature's  kindly  reminders  of  the  seasons 
as  they  come  and  go. 

This  the  author  has  accomplished  without 
sacrifice  of  scientific  accuracy;  that  the  grace 
of  attractive  form  has  been  attained  the  reader 
will  himself  perceive.  The  book  will  serve  a 
useful  purpose,  and  help  to  arouse  a  whole- 
some popular  interest  in  the  stars;  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  commend  it  to  the  reader's  favor. 

HAROLD  JACOBY, 
Rutherfurd  Professor  of  Astronomy. 

Columbia  University,  February,  1907. 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  chief  aim  of  this  book  is  to  share 
with  others  the  pleasure  which  the  writer 
has  had  in  what  may  be  called  a  relation  of 
personal  friendship  with  the  stars.  In  this 
relation  one  knows  the  more  conspicuous 
ones  by  name  and  at  a  glance ;  and  is  able 
to  greet  them  as  pleasant  acquaintances 
when  they  return  year  after  year  in  the  due 
seasons,  or  each  evening  as  they  pass  over 
their  prescribed  paths  serene  and  stately, 
or  dancing  and  twinkling,  according  to  their 
several  habits. 

One  has  a  fine  sense  of  companionship  with 
the  stars  when  he  has  secured  this  kind  of 
acquaintance  with  them — when  on  looking 
out  of  the  window  at  any  hour  of  the  night  he 
can  see  a  familiar  face  twinkling  at  him  as 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

if 'in-  ffieindly  -recognition  of  the  fact  that  he 
im'i/sttknow  it  is  due  at  that  hour  and  is  ex- 
ipectitig  ,'to.^'it;  or  when,  on  a  cold  mid- 
night in  late  February,  before  the  trees  and 
birds  have  announced  the  spring-time,  he 
sees  a  bright,  bluish,  scintillating  point  just 
pushing  up  over  the  eastern  horizon  and 
knows  that  Vega  has  come  to  grace  the  skies 
again  and  that  spring  will  surely  come  with  her. 

Such  a  feeling  for  the  stars  is  not  induced 
by  exciting  wonder  at  the  expanse  and 
mystery  of  the  heavens,  nor  by  burdening  and 
oppressing  the  mind  with  the  vastness  that 
seems  beyond  all  compassing  in  thought,  but 
by  showing  how  the  stars,  like  the  flowers 
and  the  trees,  are  but  parts  of  the  visible 
beauty  of  nature  which  have  their  share  in 
making  "the  perfect  whole." 

Plants  and  birds  come  in  their  turn 

"As  the  revolving  seasons  rise 
Above  the  tree-tops  star  by  star," 

and  the  steady  advance  of  the  changing  sea- 
son gets  a  definiteness  and  an  interest  to  one 
otherwise  impossible  when  he  has  learned 
to  associate  the  visible  signs  of  the  progress 
of  the  year  as  they  appear  in  the  skies  as 
well  as  on  the  earth.  He  will  then  associate 


INTRODUCTION 

the  blooming  of  the  blood-root  and  the  first 
warble  of  the  bluebirds  with  the  eastern 
splendor  of  Arcturus  and  the  blooming  of  the 
maples.  When  he  watches  in  the  daytime 
for  the  first  blue  violets  he  will  look  the  same 
evening  for  the  blue  twinkling  face  of  Vega. 
He  will  know  that  the  j uncos  and  Sirius  leave 
us  at  about  the  same  time  in  the  spring; 
that  when  the  golden-rod  and  the  wild  asters 
are  blooming  it  is  time  to  look  for  Fomalhaut 
and  that  Antares  is  about  to  go;  and  a 
creaking,  frosty  night  will  make  him  in- 
voluntarily turn  his  eyes  up  to  mighty  Orion 
striding  across  the  southern  skies. 

Such  things  as  these,  that  are  so  dear  to 
the  heart  of  the  lover  of  nature,  are  not 
learned  as  one  learns  a  lesson,  or  by  the  being 
told,  but  by  coming  into  a  personal  relation, 
a  relation  very  easily  established  by  one  who 
really  desires  it,  with  the  flowers  and  trees 
and  birds  and  stars,  knowing  them  all  in  their 
seasons  and  their  associations. 

For  such  knowledge  as  this  no  technical 
information  is  necessary,  though  it  may  be 
followed  by  a  desire  for  technical  knowledge. 
The  two  are  quite  different  things.  But 
one  can  come  to  no  real  appreciation  of  any- 
thing in  nature  without  some  knowledge  of 
3 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

particular  objects.  The  acquirement  of  it 
is  just  as  important  and  just  as  easy  with 
the  stars  as  with  the  flowers.  One  may  revel 
in  the  beauty  of  a  whole  field  of  grass  and 
flowers,  but  his  heart  gives  a  leap  when  he 
sees  among  them  the  face  of  some  flower 
that  he  knows  and  likes,  and  he  cries, 
"There's  a  lily,"  or  a  gentian,  or  whatever 
it  may  be.  Birds  may  flit  around  us  as  we 
sit  in  the  woods,  and  we  note  them  as  black, 
yellow,  pretty,  or  whatever,  and  we  think 
we  are  getting  all  the  pleasure  we  can  from 
them ;  but  interest  quickens  when  one  comes 
that  we  can  name,  and  it  at  once  has  an  in- 
dividuality and  an  importance  which  none 
the  rest  have. 

So  it  is  with  the  stars:  a  starry  night  is 
beautiful  and  we  gaze  at  it  and  enjoy  it  and 
do  not  care  to  know  more  about  it  in  detail. 
But  if  by  chance  we  come  to  know  by  name 
one  bright  star,  it  immediately  separates 
itself  from  all  the  others  and  becomes  an 
individual.  If  we  enlarge  our  acquaintance 
in  the  skies,  the  whole  aspect  of  the  heavens 
is  changed,  and,  instead  of  a  brilliant  as- 
sembly of  impersonal  points  of  light,  we  see 
a  host  of  individuals  that  we  know  as  bright 
Capella,  sombre  Betelgeuse,  and  others. 
4 


INTRODUCTION 

And  this  satisfaction  we  may  secure  with- 
out troubling  about  meridians  and  ecliptics, 
or  right  ascension  and  declination,  or  any 
other  of  the  scientific  trappings  of  the  stars, 
just  as  we  have  it  with  the  flowers  without 
attending  to  sepals  and  petals,  or  pistils 
and  anthers,  and  with  the  birds  without  any 
thought  of  anatomical  classification.  The 
only  thing  one  needs  to  do  in  order  to  have 
such  an  acquaintance  with  the  stars  is  to 
look  for  them:  and  this  book  aims  to  show 
how  and  when  and  where  to  look  for  them  in 
the  easiest  possible  way. 

Any  especially  scientific  information  will 
be  omitted,  the  desire  being  to  make  the 
stars  as  interesting  in  themselves  as  possible 
and  to  show  how  simple  a  matter  it  is  to 
know  in  an  intelligent  but  untechnical  way 
the  choicest  individuals  among  them,  the 
leading  facts  concerning  them,  their  bearing 
in  practical  life,  and  all  that  is  individually 
beautiful  and  important  about  them.  This, 
it  is  believed,  will  yield  a  pleasure  such  that 
any  one  who  has  once  experienced  it  will 
feel  is  a  very  large  reward  for  the  small  labor 
that  it  really  entails. 

Instead  of  its  being  a  dry  and  difficult  thing 
to  acquire  any  particular  knowledge  of  the 
5 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

stars,  one,  if  rightly  directed,  will  find  on 
pursuing  the  subject  only  just  a  little  way 
that,  while  giving  himself  next  to  no  trouble 
about  it,  he  can  soon  come  to  know  the  more 
notable  ones  by  name  and  to  have  a  fair  fund 
of  practical  information  about  them;  and 
that  many  of  the  stars,  which  now  all  look 
so  much  alike  to  him,  will  have  acquired 
such  an  individuality  that  he  can  recognize 
them  at  a  glance  in  whatever  position  in  the 
skies  he  may  see  them.  And  he  will  find, 
too,  that  the  pleasure  one  never  fails  to  have 
in  the  spectacle  of  the  whole  sky  is  multi- 
plied many  times  for  him  as  soon  as  he  knows 
something  of  the  individuals  that  make  up 
this  splendid  panorama. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  stars  as 
individuals  figure  a  great  deal  more  promi- 
nently in  old  than  in  modern  literature,  and 
the  writers  of  the  older  literature  show  a  more 
personal  acquaintance  with  them  than  the 
writers  of  the  later  literature  show.  This 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  stars  really  pre- 
ceded the  science  of  astronomy.  The  stars 
were  better  known  even  to  people  at  large 
before  there  was  any  such  science  than  they 
are  known  now,  and  there  is  only  too  much 
justice  in  Emerson's  reproach  that  now,  in 
6 


INTRODUCTION 

these  days  of  nautical  almanacs,  "the  man 
in  the  street  does  not  know  a  star  in  the  sky. 
The  solstice  he  does  not  observe,  the  equinox 
he  knows  as  little;  and  the  whole  bright 
calendar  of  the  year  is  without  a  dial  in  his 
mind." 

The  explanation  of  this  difference  is  that 
people  in  earlier  times,  being  more  out  of 
doors  than  the  people  of  the  present  day, 
were  more  observant  of  out -door  objects  and 
took  more  interest  in  them.  For  it  is,  after 
all,  mainly  a  matter  of  observation;  and 
for  learning  to  know  the  leading  stars  and 
getting  the  interest  that  attends  an  ac- 
quaintance with  them,  little  more  is  needful 
than  simply  looking  at  them.  It  is  looking 
at  them,  too,  with  only  the  naked  eye;  for 
all  the  stars  that  attract  special  notice  and 
have  individual  names  were  noticed  and  so 
named  long  before  the  invention  of  the 
telescope;  and  the  principal  constellations 
were  traced  and  named  by  simple  shepherds 
who  tended  their  flocks  at  night  in  the  open 
fields  and  had  nothing  to  aid  them  but  their 
own  eyes  and  fancy. 


THE  RISING  AND  THE  SETTING  OF   THE  STARS 

THE  most  favorable  time  for  identifying 
a  star  is  when  it  is  rising,  or  has  just 
risen,  especially  if  its  rising  takes  place  any- 
where between  twilight  and  midnight,  the 
portion  of  the  day  most  likely  to  be  con- 
venient for  observers.  It  is  then  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  sky,  where  the  afterglow 
of  the  sunset  does  not  dim  its  lustre,  and  it 
is  far  enough  down  towards  the  horizon  for 
one  to  look  at  it  face  to  face  in  a  comfortable 
attitude.  Moreover,  at  rising  a  star  is  more 
nearly  by  itself,  more  separated  from  neigh- 
boring stars,  and  is,  therefore,  much  more 
easily  recognized  than  when  one  has  to 
pick  it  out  from  among  the  host  of  other 
stars  already  scattered  over  the  sky  and  in 
as  plain  view  as  it.  For  near  the  horizon 
the  atmosphere  obliterates  the  multitude  of 
8 


RISING  AND    SETTING   OF  THE    STARS 

small  stars  which  are  plainly  visible  higher 
up  in  the  sky. 

It  is  true  that,  owing  to  the  density  of  the 
atmosphere  there,  all  stars  twinkle  more,  and 
hence  shine  with  less  steadiness,  when  they 
are  near  the  horizon  than  when  they  are 
higher  up  in  the  sky,  and  most  stars  are  not 
to  be  seen  at  all  until  they  have  actually 
gotten  some  distance  above  the  horizon. 
Then  there  is  to  be  allowed  for,  the  inter- 
ference of  buildings,  trees,  and  other  objects 
in  the  landscape;  but,  even  in  spite  of  these 
interferences,  most  any  star  comes  well  into 
view  before  it  has  risen  so  high  that  it  cannot 
be  easily  separated  from  the  others  and 
looked  at  with  comfort.  One  has  the  ad- 
vantage given  by  the  comparative  isolation 
of  a  rising  star  whether  it  rises  from  below 
the  horizon  or  from  behind  the  trees  and 
houses. 

If  one  were  observing  a  star  through  a 
telescope  and  for  other  purposes  than  that  of 
identification,  he  should  choose,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  a  time  when  the  star  is  in  the 
middle  of  its  course  from  east  to  west,  or  as 
nearly  overhead  as  it  ever  reaches.  There 
the  atmosphere  will  be  clearer  and,  in  con- 
sequence, the  star  will  shine  with  a  steadier 
9 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

light  and  offer  less  opportunity  for  optical 
illusions.  But  this  means  either  a  neck- 
breaking  attitude  or  some  special  prepara- 
tions for  a  comfortable  reclining  posture, 
either  of  which  is  more  or  less  discouraging 
to  one  who  has  not  already  become  pretty 
familiar  with  the  stars.  When  he  has  come 
to  know  them,  there  is  no  greater  delight 
than  to  lie  stretched  on  a  cot  in  the  open 
with  the  whole  expanse  of  the  heavens  above 
him,  and  watch  them  as  they  rise  and  pass 
and  go  again.  This  is  the  stage  of  acquaint- 
ance that  binds  one  forever  in  friendship  with 
the  stars.  But  a  speaking  acquaintance  may 
be  maintained  that  will  give  much  pleasure 
with  lighter  demands  upon  one. 

The  rising  of  the  stars  is  the  time  of  rec- 
ognition and  greeting.  But  it  is  no  less 
important  to  speed  the  parting  guest;  and 
the  next  most  satisfactory  time  to  watch  a 
star  is  when  it  has  reached  the  western  sky 
and  is  about  to  leave  us  until  it  comes  again 
to  the  eastern  door  on  its  never-ceasing 
round.  Here,  while  the  star  remains  the 
same  in  its  individual  attributes,  all  its  setting 
is  the  reverse  of  what  it  was  when  the  star 
first  appeared  above  the  eastern  horizon. 
The  parallelogram  of  twinkling  stars  that 
10 


RISING   AND    SETTING   OF   THE    STARS 

trailed  behind  Vega  as  she  rose  in  the  east 
now  waves  above  her  as  she  sinks  below  the 
line  of  vision  in  the  west.  The  Northern 
Cross,  which  heaved  itself  into  sight  in  the 
east  almost  wrong -side  up,  with  Deneb 
weighting  the  head  of  it,  has,  twenty  hours 
later,  practically  righted  itself  and  is  lost 
to  view  in  the  glowing  west  with  Deneb 
dancing  on  the  tip  of  its  upright.  So  com- 
plete identification  must  include  the  rec- 
ognition of  a  star  both  in  the  east  and  in  the 
west. 

In  the  north  there  is  a  circle  of  stars  around 
the  pole  which  are  always  visible  to  us.  They 
complete  their  small  round  once  in  twenty- 
four  hours ;  but  their  path  lies  entirely  above 
the  horizon,  so  they  never  rise  or  set.  With- 
in this  circle  are  the  Pole  Star  and  the  stars 
of  the  Great  Dipper,  which  will  be  illustrated 
in  the  next  chapter;  but  it  includes  none  of 
the  brightest  stars. 

Next  comes  a  line  of  stars  describing  a 
larger  circle  around  the  pole,  one  that  takes 
them  below  the  horizon  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  time  according  to  their  distance  from 
the  pivotal  point,  the  pole.  These  stars  rise 
in  the  northeast,  make  a  long,  slow  sweep 
of  the  sky,  and  set  in  the  northwest,  finish- 
ii 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

ing  their  circle  below  the  horizon  and  rising 
not  long  after  they  set.  Among  these  are 
some  of  the  brightest  stars. 

Then  follows  a  belt  of  stars  that  rise  some- 
where near  the  exact  eastern  point  of  the 
horizon,  cross  the  heavens  to  the  western 
point  in  about  twelve  hours,  and  remain 
below  the  horizon  another  twelve  hours. 

And,  finally,  there  are  the  stars  in  the 
southern  section  of  the  sky,  which  rise  south 
of  east  and  set  in  the  southwest,  never  ris- 
ing very  high  in  the  heavens,  the  portion 
of  their  circle,  or  course,  over  which  we  can 
see  them  pass  being  smaller  and  smaller  as 
that  course  lies  farther  and  farther  south  of 
us.  Among  these  southern  stars  are  Sirius, 
the  star  that  outshines  all  the  others,  and 
Fomalhaut,  that  hides  from  us  for  sixteen 
hours  out  of  each  twenty-four. 

All  the  stars  that  rise  south  of  the  exact 
eastern  point  on  the  horizon  are  called 
southern  stars;  for  the  sky  is  divided  into  a 
northern  and  a  southern  hemisphere  by  an 
equator  running  half-way  between  the  north 
and  the  south  pole,  just  as  the  earth  is 
divided.  The  northernmost  stars  of  the 
southern  hemisphere  are  visible  to  us  just  as 
the  southernmost  stars  of  the  northern 

12 


RISING   AND   SETTING   OF   THE    STARS 

hemisphere  are  visible  to  people  living  in 
southern  latitudes.  These  distinctions  are 
of  no  great  importance,  but  it  is  well  to 
understand  that,  while  we  cannot  see  the 
southern  stars  as  a  body,  yet  some  of  them 
are  visible  to  us  and  still  are  spoken  of  as 
southern  stars.  Three  of  the  brightest  stars 
that  come  within  our  view,  Rigel,  Ant  ares, 
and  Spica,  are  southern  stars,  in  addition  to 
Sirius  and  Fomalhaut,  which  have  already 
been  mentioned. 

Unlike  the  sun  and  moon  and  the  planets, 
each  star  rises  always  at  practically  the  same 
point  in  the  heavens.  It  comes  back  to  the 
starting-point  each  day  four  minutes  earlier 
than  the  day  before,  which  makes  it  rise 
about  an  hour  earlier  each  fortnight,  and 
two  hours  earlier  each  month;  so  that  in 
twelve  months  it  comes  twenty-four  hours 
earlier.  This  brings  it  back  to  the  same 
rising  point  at  almost  the  same  second  once 
a  year. 

These  changes  from  day  to  day  in  the  time 
of  the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  stars  are 
regular  and  definite;  and  so  it  is  an  easy 
matter,  after  one  has  once  learned  to  rec- 
ognize a  star,  either  by  its  appearance  or  its 
surroundings,  to  know  where  to  look  for  it 
13 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

at  any  given  date.  If  a  star,  for  instance,  is 
due  to  rise  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  on  the 
first  of  March,  it  will  rise  at  four  in  the  after- 
noon in  April,  and  at  eight  in  the  evening 
in  February ;  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
in  May,  and  at  ten  in  the  evening  in  Janu- 
ary; at  noon  in  June,  and  at  midnight  in 
December;  and  so  on  throughout  the  year. 
Hence,  almost  any  star  can  be  seen  at  some 
time  in  the  night  for  six  months  in  the  year. 
The  other  six  months,  if  it  is  among  the 
northernmost  stars,  it  can  be  seen  more  or 
less  each  night;  but  if  it  is  among  those 
that  are  below  the  horizon  many  hours,  it 
may  be  above  it  during  the  hours  of  sun- 
shine and  thus  be  rendered  invisible  to  the 
naked  eye,  though  even  in  the  daytime  one 
can  usually  find  a  bright  star  with  a  tele- 
scope. 

The  times  of  rising  and  setting  given  in 
this  book  are  for  about  the  latitude  of  New 
York  City,  which  is  nearly  forty -one  de- 
grees north  latitude.  For  any  place  within 
five  degrees  of  this  latitude  on  either  side 
the  difference  in  time  of  rising  is  so  slight 
that  for  mere  purposes  of  identification  it 
will  not  matter.  The  time  of  the  appearance 
of  the  stars  to  persons  within  this  belt  of 
14 


RISING   AND    SETTING   OF    THE    STARS 

latitude  is  the  same  all  the  way  across  the 
country  from  Maine  to  California.  It  in- 
cludes the  region  around  all  the  large  cities 
of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  and  most 
of  the  Western  ones.  Within  it  lie  Portland, 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  Washington,  Balti- 
more, Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  Chicago,  St. 
Paul,  Detroit,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Denver, 
and  San  Francisco.  On  the  southernmost 
edge  of  it  is  Memphis,  and  just  a  little  outside 
of  it  on  the  north  is  Olympia,  Washington. 
Above  or  below  this  belt  one  must  take  lati- 
tude more  or  less  into  consideration;  which 
means  only  to  remember  that  when  an 
observer  is  placed  farther  south  the  stars  to 
the  north  of  him  rise  somewhat  later  and 
those  to  the  south  of  him  somewhat  earlier, 
and  that  if  he  is  placed  north  of  this  belt  the 
stars  to  the  south  of  him  rise  somewhat  later 
and  those  to  the  north  of  him  somewhat 
earlier.  The  rising-times  of  the  stars  as  given 
here  will  answer  approximately  for  any  place 
in  the  United  States. 

When  the  rising-time  of  a  star  is  referred 
to  in  these  pages,  it  is  usually  given  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  round  numbers  to  avoid  any 
complications.  If  the  actual  time,  for  in- 
stance, is  6:55,  it  is  given  as  7:00.  Varia- 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

tions  of  this  kind  seldom  extend  over  more 
than  a  few  minutes  and  they  more  often  give 
a  time  a  little  later  instead  of  earlier  than  the 
exact  minute.  This  makes  the  inexactness 
still  more  immaterial,  since  for  naked  eye 
observation  one  cannot  hold  the  stars  to 
their  scheduled  minute  of  rising,  and  any- 
where within  half  an  hour  is  a  reasonable  ex- 
pectation in  that  regard.  They  are  there, 
to  be  sure,  but  variations  of  climate  between 
two  places  and  variations  of  atmosphere 
from  day  to  day  will  make  a  considerable 
difference  in  their  visibility  when  near  the 
horizon.  After  they  are  well  up  in  the  sky, 
of  course,  one  need  not  make  so  many 
concessions. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  also  that  one  is 
rarely  ever  situated  where  he  can  really  see 
the  horizon,  but  owing  to  various  causes  sees 
usually  a  line  somewhat  above  the  true 
horizon. 


II 

CONCERNING   THE    BRIGHTEST   STARS 

AMONG  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
f\  stars  in  the  universe  there  are  twenty 
which  are  so  much  brighter  than  the  others 
as  to  make  a  class  by  themselves,  and  are 
known  as  stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  or 
highest  degree  of  brightness.  These  twenty 
stars  are  so  scattered  over  the  sky  and  so 
dominate  each  the  section  in  which  it  is 
found,  that  if  one  comes  to  know  them,  there 
is  no  quarter  of  the  heavens  towards  which 
he  can  turn  his  eye  and  not  have  a  pleasant 
sense  of  familiarity  with  it. 

Each  one  of  these  stars  has  a  fixed  place 
in  the  sky,  and  all,  save  three,  have  proper 
names  of  their  own.  The  stars  in  general 
are  not  known  by  individual  names ;  so  it  is 
a  matter  of  congratulation  that  nearly  all 
the  bright  ones  are  so  known,  and  especially 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


that  this  is  true  of  all  the  brightest  stars  that 
can  be  seen  in  our  latitude.  The  fixed  place 
they  have  in  common  with  all  the  other  stars, 
which,  when  once  their  place  is  known,  can 
always  be  found  in  the  same  spot.  For  the 
stars  are  steadfast.  Spring,  summer,  autumn 
and  winter  each  has  its  own  bright  stellar 
setting,  and  we  can  always  count  on  its  ap- 
pearing with  unchanging  beauty  and  un- 
failing promptness.  The  moon  comes  and 
goes.  She  is  the  symbol  of  inconstancy. 
The  planets  wander  from  place  to  place — 
most  of  them  easy  enough  to  find,  but  con- 
tinually changing  in  brghtness  and  position. 
Only  the  stars  are  always  the  same. 

The  names  of  the  twenty  brightest  stars, 
given  in  the  order  of  their  brightness,  are  as 
follows : 

Sirius pronounced  Sir'-i-us 


Canopus 

Alpha  Centauri.. 

Vega 

Capella 

Arcturus 

Rigel 

Procyon 

Achernar 

Beta  Centauri.  .  . 
Altair. . 


Ka-n5'-pus 

Al-fa  Sen-ta'-re 

Ve'-ga 

Ka-pel'-a 

Ark-tu'-rus 

Re'-jel,  or  Ri'-jel 

Pro'-si-on 

A-ker'-nar 

Ba-ta  Sen-ta'-re 

Al-tare' 


18 


CONCERNING  THE  BRIGHTEST  STARS 

Betelgeuse pronounced  Bet-el-gerz' 

Alpha  Crucis  .  . .  Al-fa  cru-'sis 

Aldebaran    "  Al-deb'-a-ran 

Spica "  Spi'-ka 

Pollux Pol'-uks 

Antares    An-ta'-rSz 

Fomalhaut Fo'-mal-o 

Deneb,  or  Arided  Den'-eb,  or  A'-ri-ded 

Regulus    Reg'-u-lus 

There  are  five  stars  among  the  twenty 
brightest  which  are  so  far  south  that  they 
cannot  be  seen  in  our  latitude.  But  they 
are  important  and  beautiful,  and  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  speak  of  them  briefly  before 
we  pass  on  to  the  others  of  this  bright  com- 
pany with  whom  we  hope  to  have  a  friendly 
acquaintance.  These  five  stars  are  Canopus, 
Alpha  Centauri,  Beta  Centauri,  Alpha  Crucis, 
and  Achernar.  In  some  parts  of  Florida 
and  Texas,  Achernar  can  be  seen  low  in  the 
south  for  a  short  time  in  the  evening,  and 
Canopus,  which  is  a  little  farther  north,  can 
be  seen  a  somewhat  longer  time  and  higher 
up  in  the  sky.  All  five  of  these  stars  can  be 
seen  in  Cuba.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  they 
must  remain  hidden  from  us,  for  there  are 
special  reasons  why  some  of  them  would 
interest  us,  aside  from  their  great  beauty. 

Canopus,  for  instance,  is  far  brighter  than 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

any  star  visible  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
save  one,  the  brilliant  star  Sirius,  and  Cano- 
pus  is  so  much  farther  away  than  Sirius 
that  it  must  be  many  times  larger  and 
really  give  many  times  more  heat  and  light. 
It  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  largest  bodies  in 
the  universe;  for  with  all  its  superior  brill- 
iancy, it  is  still  so  far  away  that  we  have 
no  certain  estimate  of  its  distance.  Sirius, 
though  it  outshines  Canopus  to  our  view,  is 
comparatively  near  us,  and  its  greater  bright- 
ness may  be  on  that  account. 

Incidentally,  it  may  be  interesting  to  know 
that  Canopus  is  credited  with  having  run 
away  with  one  of  the  Pleiades.  If  he  did 
the  deed,  he  has  succeeded  in  concealing  the 
proof  of  it,  for  the  lost  Pleiad  has  never  been 
seen  elsewhere  since  she  was  reputed  to  have 
disappeared  from  her  place  among  her  six 
sisters. 

Alpha  Centauri  is  distinguished  as  being, 
so  far  as  is  now  known,  the  one  star  of  all, 
of  whatever  degree  of  brightness,  that  is 
nearest  to  us.  It  is  not  near  enough  for  any 
inconvenient  neighborliness,  as  we  shall  find 
later  on;  but  a  stretch  of  a  few  hundred 
millions  of  miles  in  shortening  the  distance 
to  our  nearest  neighbor  is  worth  taking  into 
20 


CONCERNING   THE   BRIGHTEST  STARS 

account  and  setting  down  to  the  credit  of 
Alpha  Centauri. 

This  star  is  called  by  certain  French  as- 
tronomers Proxima,  on  account  of  its  near- 
ness to  us;  but  the  name  has  not  come  into 
any  general  use,  nor  does  it  seem  very 
desirable  that  it  should.  For  all  our  feeling 
that  so  important  a  star  ought  to  have  an 
individual  name,  Proxima  does  not  seem  the 
right  choice.  It  may  well  be  that  in  the 
course  of  time  other  stars  will  be  found  to  be 
nearer  to  us  than  Alpha  Centauri,  and  the 
name  would  then  have  no  appropriateness. 

Beta  Centauri  is  a  brilliant  star,  not  quite 
so  bright  as  Alpha.  The  two  stars  lie  very 
near  together.  The  distance  between  them 
is  about  four  degrees.  This  is  a  little  more 
than  the  distance  between  Castor  and  Pollux 
and  not  quite  so  much  as  that  between  the 
two  pointers  in  the  Dipper.  Alpha  Crucis,  al- 
most as  bright,  lies  not  far  away,  and  the 
three  stars  make  a  brilliant  spectacle  in  the 
southern  sky.  Achernar,  but  little  below 
Alpha  Centauri  in  brightness,  is  the  only  very 
bright  star  in  its  section  of  the  southern 
heavens. 

The  other  fifteen  of  the  brightest  stars  are 
all  visible  to  us,  and  are  the  ones  we  shall  seek 

21 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

to  know  first.  After  they  are  well  identified 
it  will  be  easy  to  point  out  others,  less  brill- 
iant, but  perhaps  not  less  significant. 

To  find  any  of  these  stars  only  two  things 
are  necessary  to  be  known  as  a  basis  from 
which  to  work:  the  constellation  known  as 
the  Big  Dipper,  and  the  North  Star  (Polaris 
is  its  name). 

The  Big  Dipper  is  a  large  constellation 
(part  of  a  still  larger  one  called  the  Great 


THE    BIG   DIPPER 

Bear)  consisting  of  seven  principal  stars,  all 
very  bright,  but  none  of  them  among  the 
twenty  brightest,  grouped  so  as  to  resemble 
the  outline  of  a  dipper. 

This  constellation  is  so  conspicuous  and, 
hence,  so  easy  to  find,  that  it  is  known  to 
most  persons.  It  is  one  of  the  few  con- 
stellations that  really  look  like  the  things 
after  which  they  are  named.  It  lies  in  the 

22 


CONCERNING  THE  BRIGHTEST  STARS 

northern  heavens,  and  in  our  latitude  is 
above  the  horizon  all  night,  so  that  it  can 
always  be  seen  when  the  skies  are  clear. 
The  two  stars  on  the  outer  side  of  the  bowl 
are  called  the  ''pointers,"  because  a  line 
drawn  through  them  from  bottom  to  top  will 
point  towards  the  North  Star,  and,  if  ex- 
tended to  about  five  times  the  distance  be- 
tween the  two  stars,  will  end,  not  exactly, 
but  yet  so  nearly  at  Polaris  that  there  will 
be  no  mistaking  the  star. 

The  North  Star  marks  the  centre,  or  pole, 
around  which  the  celestial  sphere  revolves, 
and  the  pointers  always  hold  the  same  rel- 
ative situation  to  it  no  matter  how  the 
dipper  is  turned  with  relation  to  us.  The 
North  Star  and  the  Dipper  as  they  appear  to 
an  observer  on  the  earth  in  our  latitude  at 
the  different  seasons  of  the  year  have  the 
relative  position  shown  in  the  illustration. 

Inasmuch  as  all  the  stars  seen  in  the  north- 
ern hemisphere  of  the  heavens  revolve 
around  the  point  marked  by  the  North  Star, 
their  positions  relative  to  one  another  are 
always  the  same.  So  if  one  bears  this  in 
mind,  it  will  be  just  as  easy  to  find  them  at 
one  time  in  the  year,  or  in  the  evening,  as  at 
another.  The  positions  given  in  the  dia- 
23 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

gram  of  the  Dipper  are  as  the  stars  com- 
posing it  appear  early  in  the  evening  at  the 
seasons  named.  They  make  a  circuit  of  the 
pole  each  twenty-four  hours,  so  that  if  one 


t---v 


A 


&—-&- 

Sumtntr 


RELATIVE    POSITION    OF    THE    NORTH    STAR    AND 
THE    DIPPER 

watches  all  night  he  can  see  them  in  at  least 
three  of  these  positions  each  night  in  winter 
and  in  two  of  them  during  the  short  nights 
of  summer.  Into  the  other  positions  they 
come,  of  course,  in  the  daytime. 
24 


CONCERNING   THE   BRIGHTEST  STARS 

The  distance  between  the  two  pointers  is 
about  five  degrees;  and  this  is  an  important 
thing  to  keep  in  mind.  These  known  five 
degrees  may  be  used  as  a  unit  of  measure 
in  finding  other  stars  as  described  in  this 
book.  If  one  cannot  carry  the  distance 
between  the  pointers  in  his  mind  from  one 
part  of  the  skies  to  another  and  thus  make 
comparisons  of  distances  that  will  be  ap- 
proximately correct,  he  can  take  a  stiff 
piece  of  card-board,  or  an  adjustable  ruler, 
and,  holding  it  out  at  arm's-length,  adjust 
it  so  as  to  exactly  cover  the  space  between 
the  two  pointers.  He  will  then  have  a  fair- 
ly accurate  measure  of  five  degrees  in  the 
sky  and  will  probably  be  surprised  to  find 
that  it  will  require  a  little  less  than  three 
inches  on  his  ruler  to  cover  it.  This  will 
be  of  great  assistance  in  marking  off  ap- 
proximate distances  on  the  surface  of  the 
heavens  as  it  appears  to  us,  and  will  enable 
one  to  follow  the  directions  given  in  these 
pages.  It  will  be  a  still  further  convenience 
to  make  a  measure  from  two  to  four  times  as 
long,  thus  covering  ten  or  twenty  degrees. 
In  adjusting  these  measures  it  will  be  found 
necessary  to  sight  with  one  eye  only,  keeping 
the  other  closed.  One  cannot  cover  a  star 
25 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

from  both  eyes  with  a  ruler  at  only  an  arm's- 
length  away. 

While  these  rough  guides  are  conveniences 
to  one  entirely  unaccustomed  to  observing 
the  skies,  a  very  little  experience  will  soon 
enable  one  to  estimate  distances  from  star 
to  star  by  the  eye  alone  with  sufficient  ac- 
curacy to  identify  any  conspicuous  object 
in  the  heavens. 

In  looking  for  the  brightest  stars  one  may 
sometimes  find  himself  confused  by  four 
bright  stars  which  are  not,  after  all,  true 
stars,  but  are  the  planets  Venus,  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  and  Mars.  Stars  are  suns  and  shine 
by  their  own  light,  as  our  sun  does.  Planets 
are  dark  bodies  and  shine  only  by  light  re- 
flected from  the  sun.  If  the  planets  were  as 
far  away  as  the  stars,  they  would  be  entire- 
ly invisible,  and  all  the  differences  between 
them  and  the  stars  which  I  am  about  to 
enumerate  are  due  entirely  to  their  com- 
parative nearness  to  us. 

There  are  seven  planets  besides  the  earth, 
but  the  four  already  mentioned  are  the  only 
ones  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  true  stars 
and  thus  prove  confusing  to  the  ordinary 
observer.  Of  the  other  three,  two  (Neptune 
and  Uranus)  can  be  seen  only  with  a  tele- 
26 


CONCERNING   THE   BRIGHTEST  STARS 

scope,  and  the  other  (Mercury)  on  account 
of  its  nearness  to  the  sun  is  rarely  seen  at 
all  by  the  ordinary  observer,  though  when  it 
is  visible  it  appears  as  a  rather  bright  star. 
The  first  two,  Venus  and  Jupiter,  are  at 
certain  times  brighter  than  the  brightest 
stars.  Venus  sometimes  shines  so  that  it 
casts  a  shadow  and  sometimes  can  be  seen, 
like  the  moon,  in  daylight.  Saturn  is 
usually  as  bright  as  a  first  magnitude  star, 
and  Mars  varies  so  that  it  sometimes  equals 
Saturn  in  brilliancy  and  sometimes  is  not  so 
bright.  They  all  move  about  in  the  heavens 
with  seeming  irregularity,  and  when  they  are 
in  the  region  of  any  bright  star  may  easily 
be  mistaken  for  it  by  an  untrained  observer. 
A  little  careful  observation,  however,  will 
show  that  they  are  not  as  the  other  stars. 
They  are  not  fixed  in  their  places,  and  a  few 
nights  of  watching  will  make  this  apparent. 
They  do  not  twinkle  as  the  stars  do,  but  shine 
with  a  steadier  light.  They  are  not  mere 
points  of  light,  as  the  stars  are,  but  show 
as  actual  bodies  and  sometimes  at  their 
brightest  even  as  rotund  solid  bodies,  though 
small  in  comparison  with  the  other  two 
bodies  of  which  we  can  see  the  outlines:  the 
sun  and  the  moon.  A  very  little  watching 
27 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

will  make  one  familiar  with  their  appearance 
so  that  he  can  always  tell  Venus  and  Jupiter 
at  a  glance  and  usually  Saturn  and  Mars. 

Their  positions  in  the  heavens  are  hard  to 
describe  definitely  because  the  planets  are 
constantly  changing.  They  do,  however, 
keep  within  a  certain  limited  path,  which  is 
within  a  few  degrees  of  the  path  that  the 
moon  follows  as  it  threads  its  way  among  the 
stars  each  month,  and  at  some  time  during 
the  month  it  passes  near  each  planet.  This 
is  sufficient  to  indicate  that  the  planets 
are  never  found  very  far  south  or  very  far 
north. 

Venus  has  still  the  further  limitation  of 
never  being  more  than  about  forty -five 
degrees  away  from  the  sun.  When  it  is  in 
the  evening  sky  it  sets  never  much  more 
than  three  hours  after  the  sun,  and  when  it  is 
seen  in  the  morning  it  rises  never  more  than 
about  three  hours  earlier  than  the  sun.  The 
other  planets  within  their  limited  path  al- 
ready described  rise  and  set  at  various  times 
within  twelve  hours  of  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  sun. 

The  planets  have  each  a  distinctive  color, 
which  will  assist  somewhat  in  identifying 
them.  Jupiter  is  white;  Venus  is  a  little 
28 


CONCERNING  THE  BRIGHTEST  STARS 

tinged    with    yellow,    Saturn    is    decidedly 
yellow,  and  Mars  is  fiery  red. 

There  are  many  interesting  things  to 
observe  about  the  planets,  which  are  a  study 
in  themselves.  This  brief  outline  of  their 
appearance  and  locations  in  the  sky  will  be 
sufficient  to  prevent  one  from  confusing 
them  with  the  stars,  which  are  the  special 
objects  of  our  quest  at  present;  and  with  the 
North  Star  and  the  Dipper  well  in  mind,  we 
are  now  ready  to  be  introduced  to  the  bright- 
est of  them. 


Ill 

CAPELLA 

CAPELLA  is  a  charming  star  that  has 
the  distinction  of  being  situated  nearer 
to  the  North  Star  than  any  other  of  the 
brightest  stars.  It  can  be  found  by  drawing 
a  line  forty-five  degrees  long  from  Polaris  at 
a  right  angle  to  the  line  from  the  pointers  to 
the  pole  and  running  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  the  handle  of  the  Dipper.  It  is  also 
pointed  out  by  a  line  starting  at  the  star 
which  marks  the  bottom  of  the  Dipper  on 
the  handle  side  and  running  thence  about 
half  -  way  between  the  two  pointers,  for  a 
distance  of  about  fifty  degrees,  or  to  the 
first  bright  star,  which  is  Capella.  If  these 
directions  are  even  approximately  followed 
Capella  can  be  discovered,  for  there  is  no 
other  star  in  its  neighborhood  that  in  any 
way  compares  with  it  in  brightness. 

Capella  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  stars 
30 


CAPELLA 

in  the  heavens.  Not  many  years  ago  it  was 
classed  by  the  best  authorities  as  the  bright- 
est in  the  northern  hemisphere  of  the  skies. 
Sirius,  as  we  know,  always  shines  with  greater 
brilliancy  than  any  other  star ;  but  Sirius  lies 
south  of  the  equator  and  does  not  belong 
among  the  stars  of  the  northern  hemisphere, 
although  in  our  latitude  it,  fortunately,  can 
be  seen. 

In  recent  years,  however,  possibly  on 
account  of  a  real  change  in  brilliancy,  but 
probably  by  reason  of  more  delicate  measure- 
ments of  its  light,  Capella  has  been  found  to 
be  very  slightly  less  lustrous  than  one  other 
bright  star  that  is  classed  as  northern.  The 
difference  is  so  trifling  that  it  might  well  be 
questioned  by  an  ordinary  observer,  and  is 
really  not  of  much  importance  since  the  two 
stars  are  so  nearly  equal  in  brilliancy  and 
each  in  its  way  has  its  own  peculiar  charm. 

Being  so  far  north,  Capella  is  above  the 
horizon  more  than  twenty  hours  out  of  each 
twenty-four,  so  that  it  can  be  seen  at  some 
time  in  the  night  every  month  in  the  year, 
an'd  one  comes  to  be  on  most  familiar  and 
friendly  terms  with  its  bright  face.  Its 
first  appearance  in  the  skies  of  the  early 
evening  is  in  August,  when  it  rises  about  ten 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

o'clock  during  the  first  half  of  the  month; 
and  it  remains  a  constant  ornament  of  the 
nights  until  the  latter  part  of  the  following 
June.  July  is  the  only  month  in  which  it 
does  not  show  its  face  at  some  time  before 
midnight;  and  even  in  July,  if  one  watches 
closely  late  in  the  month,  he  can  have 
glimpses  of  the  star  following  the  evening 
sun  at  no  great  distance  and  almost  lost  in 
the  sunset  glow.  In  October  it  rises  just 
as  the  sun  is  setting. 

Capella  rises  almost  exactly  in  the  north- 
east and  swings  in  a  fine  long  circle  over  the 
heavens  during  its  twenty-hour  journey  to 
the  northwest,  where  it  sets  for  a  brief  time, 
and  then  rises  again  in  about  four  hours. 

When  you  watch  the  birds  congregating 
in  noisy  flocks  in  the  morning  for  the  fall 
migration,  and  in  the  afternoon  gather  the 
first  fringed  gentians,  look  for  Capella  in  the 
northeastern  sky  in  the  evening.  When  the 
trees  are  bare  and  the  berries  are  wrapped  in 
ice  and  snow,  so  that  the  winter  birds  greedily 
gather  what  in  your  bounty  you  throw  to 
them,  you  will  find  Capella  shining  almost 
directly  overhead  early  in  the  evening.  Dur- 
ing the  spring  months,  when  the  air  is  full 
of  the  stir  of  the  awakening  earth,  and  other 
32 


CAPELLA 

stars  are  demanding  our  attention  to  their 
return  in  the  east  after  long  absences,  Capella 
is  hurrying  on  towards  the  northwest,  no 
longer  charming  us  with  its  novelty,  but  still 
as  bright  and  fair  as  ever  and  ready  to  fill 
its  place  in  the  brilliant  gathering  of  the 
stars  of  spring. 

Capella  is  yellow  in  color  like  our  sun 
(which  is  a  star).  In  its  life  as  a  star  it  is  at 
about  the  same  stage  of  existence  as  the  sun 
and  shows  about  the  same  chemical  com- 
position. Being  of  the  same  type  as  the 
sun,  it  gives  something  near  an  equal  amount 
of  heat  and  light  in  proportion  to  its  size. 
But  it  is  so  much  larger  than  our  sun  that  it 
really  gives  out  at  least  one  hundred  and 
twenty  times  more  light.  Its  distance  is  so 
great  that  its  light  requires  nearly  forty 
years  to  reach  us  in  its  journey  through 
space,  though  travelling,  as  light  does,  with 
a  swiftness  of  about  186,000  miles  a  second. 
At  the  distance  of  the  nearest  fixed  star,  our 
beautiful  big  sun  would  shine  as  a  star  no 
brighter  than  Polaris.  But  Capella  is  nine 
times  farther  away  than  the  nearest  fixed 
star,  and  still  shines  as  one  of  the  brightest 
of  the  bright  stars.  If  Capella  were  in- 
habited, our  sun  would  appear  to  its  people 
33 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

as  one  of  the  faintest  stars  that  we  can  see 
with  ease.  But  it  is  not  inhabited,  for  it  is 
a  very  hot,  rarefied  and  expanded  body,  as 
much  as  forty  times  rarer  than  our  sun,  and 
like  the  other  bright  stars,  no  place  for  the 
existence  of  life  as  we  know  it. 

It  has  been  discovered  in  recent  years  that 
Capella  is  not  alone  as  it  makes  its  journey 
through  the  black  void.  Like  so  many  other 
stars,  it  is  what  is  known  as  a  binary  system, 
or  a  double  star,  and  has  a  companion 
which  lies  so  near  it  that  they  circle  around 
each  other  in  a  little  more  than  a  hundred 
days,  or  less  than  one -third  of  the  time 
that  it  takes  the  earth  to  go  around  the 
sun. 

Capella  and  its  companion  have  never 
been  seen  separately  even  with  the  assistance 
of  the  strongest  telescope.  But  the  wizard 
spectroscope  has  penetrated  their  family 
secret  and  by  its  means  astronomers  have 
learned  that  they  are  two  immense,  fiery 
bodies  of  nearly  the  same  size  and  perhaps  a 
hundred  times  more  voluminous  than  the 
sun,  whirling  with  incredible  speed  about 
each  other.  The  diameter  of  the  orbit  over 
which  the  two  stars  spin  is  so  large  that  we 
could  string  more  than  a  hundred  suns  along 
34 


CAPELLA 

it  and  still  have  room  left  for  a  few  more 
shining  beads  of  the  same  sort. 

Since  it  has  been  known  that  Capella  is  a 
double  star  it  has  been  seen  through  at  least 
one  telescope  as  oval  instead  of  round, 
showing  that  the  two  stars  have  been  caught 
at  a  place  in  their  orbit  where  they  appeared 
side  by  side  to  our  view. 

These  are  interesting  facts  that  science 
has  to  tell  us  about  Capella ;  but  the  star  that 
fixes  itself  in  our  regard  is  the  fair,  golden, 
bright  Capella  that  decks  the  sky  in  its 
season.  We  follow  it  in  its  course  visible  to 
us  across  the  heavens,  we  joy  in  its  beauty 
and  feel  the  kindly  influence  that  astrologers 
have  always  ascribed  to  it,  and  find  its  gentle 
light  no  less  gentle  on  account  of  its  being  the 
composite  of  the  great  orbs  we  know  it  is. 

Capella  is  at  present  receding  from  us  at 
the  rate  of  about  twenty  miles  a  second,  or 
more  than  a  million  miles  a  day.  At  first 
thought  this  rather  makes  us  fear  that  we  are 
in  danger  of  losing  this  beautiful  star  from 
view.  But  it  will  be  many  hundreds  of  years 
before  even  under  such  speeding  away  there 
will  be  any  appreciable  change  in  its 
brightness. 

The  constellation  of  which  Capella  forms 
35 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

a  part  is  called  Auriga.  It  is  a  five-sided 
figure  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a  shield. 
It  can  be  easily  recognized  as  soon  as  Capella 
is  located.  It  will  be  described  among  the 
constellations  later  on. 


IV 

ARCTURUS 

EARLY  in  the  evening  in  March  another 
bright  star  may  be  seen  rising  a  little 
north  of  east,  which  is  among  the  choicest  of 
the  heavenly  bodies.  This  is  Arcturus.  To 
find  it  begin  at  the  end  of  the  handle  of  the 
Big  Dipper  and,  following  the  curve  of  the 
handle,  extend  a  line  about  thirty  degrees,  or 
until  you  come  to  the  first  brilliantly  shining 
star.  There  is  no  other  very  bright  star  in 
this  region;  so  the  line  cannot  point  you  to 
any  other  than  Arcturus,  the  self -same  star 
whose  bright  beams  flowed  down  more  than 
twenty -six  hundred  years  ago  upon  the 
patient  Job  and  is  named  by  him  along  with 
other  wonders  of  the  divine  creation. 

When  one  has  learned  to  know  the  ways 
of  Arcturus  and  cares  to  greet  him  as  he 
first  comes  to  take  his  place  among  the  even- 
ing stars  in  the  spring,  one  begins  about  ten 
37 


THE   FRIENDLY   STARS 

o'clock  in  the  evening  in  February  to  watch 
the  handle  of  the  Dipper,  so  clearly,  to  the 
expectant  observer,  pointing  to  something 
important  just  below  the  horizon  and  then 
slowly  rising  until  it  has  pulled  into  view  the 
steady  shining  face  of  Arcturus.  A  less  at- 
tentive observer  is  more  likely  to  notice  the 
star  in  March  and  April,  when  the  Dipper  is 
almost  directly  overhead  and  is  turned  as 
neatly  upside  down  as  if  it  were  on  the 
pantry  shelf.  Its  handle,  though,  still  points 
to  Arcturus,  now  climbing  the  eastern  skies 
composedly  but  rapidly,  and  making  way 
for  the  other  bright  stars  of  the  spring  that 
will  bring  on  the  scene  a  stellar  setting  of 
their  own. 

Arcturus  rises  on  the  first  of  March  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  during  this 
month,  when  the  horse-chestnut  buds  are 
swelling  and  the  elm-trees  are  putting  forth 
their  first  brown  blossoms,  and  the  hawks 
and  owls  and  crows  are  prospecting  for  nest- 
ing sites  among  the  high  trees,  Arcturus,  as 
if  impelled  by  the  onrush  of  spring,  is  re- 
turning four  minutes  earlier  each  evening 
until  at  the  beginning  of  April  the  star  rises 
just  as  the  sun  sets. 

This  is  really  the  month  of  its  greatest 
38 


ARCTURUS 

glory.  It  shines  all  through  the  evening  in 
the  eastern  heavens,  bright  even  when  the 
moon  is  full,  and,  fitting  in  with  all  the  other 
aspects  of  nature,  gives  a  splendid  close  to 
the  splendid  days  of  late  April.  What  more 
gracious  day's  progress  in  beauty  could  there 
be  than  to  travel  with  the  eye  from  the 
cheerful  hepaticas  dotting  the  soft  ground 
among  the  trees  to  the  round,  white,  silent 
blossoms  of  the  dogwood  fringing  the  late 
April  woods  and  thence,  when  evening  falls, 
to  the  bright  yet  gentle  light  of  Arcturus  in 
the  sky,  announcing  the  end  of  the  purple 
twilight. 

By  the  middle  of  June,  Arcturus  may  be 
found  during  the  early  evening  almost  over- 
head, and  it  remains  in  this  region  during 
July.  After  this,  one  sees  plainly  that  it  is 
travelling  towards  the  northwest,  sinking 
lower  and  lower  each  month  until,  near  the 
last  of  November,  the  pointing  handle  of  the 
Dipper  (the  Dipper  being  then  right-side  up 
and  below  the  pole)  shows  us  that  it  has 
gone,  almost  at  the  same  moment  with  the 
sun,  below  the  northwestern  horizon.  It 
is  in  the  evening  skies  no  more  until  the  next 
spring.  If  one  wants  to  see  Arcturus  in 
December  or  January,  he  must  look  for  it 
39 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

in  the  east  between  midnight  and  dawn.  It 
shines  for  us  at  some  time  between  sunset 
and  midnight  almost  ten  months  in  the  year. 
It  requires  about  fourteen  and  a  half  hours 
to  complete  its  journey  from  rising  to  setting 
each  day. 

Arcturus  and  Capella  are  so  nearly  equal 
in  brightness  that  astronomers  differ  as  to 
which  outranks  the  other,  even  when  they 
measure  their  light  with  a  supposedly  ac- 
curate instrument  and  a  trained  eye.  To 
my  own  eye  Arcturus  outshines  Capella,  and 
on  asking  various  inexperienced  persons  for 
off-hand  opinions  as  to  the  relative  bright- 
ness of  the  two  stars,  I  have  invariably  had 
an  answer  in  favor  of  Arcturus.  The  best 
authorities,  however,  make  Capella  a  shade 
brighter. 

Arcturus,  like  Capella,  is  yellow  in  color 
and  is  known  as  a  solar,  or  sun,  type  of  star. 
It  is,  however,  as  one  can  plainly  see,  a 
little  more  tinged  with  red;  and  this  indi- 
cates that  it  is  perhaps  a  little  farther  along 
in  its  development  from  a  gaseous  to  a  solid 
body  than  either  Capella  or  the  sun,  and 
that  it  is  probably  not  quite  so  bright  in 
proportion  to  its  size. 

Situated  as  we  are,  the  sun  gives  to  the 
40 


ARCTURUS 

earth  billions  of  times  as  much  light  as 
Arcturus ;  but  if  the  sun  were  as  far  away  as 
Arcturus  is,  it  would  be  one  of  the  telescopic 
stars,  entirely  invisible  to  the  naked  eye. 
In  actual  light-giving  power  Arcturus  exceeds 
the  sun  a  thousand  times.  Its  extreme  dis- 
tance is  all  that  saves  us  from  this  tremendous 
light.  It  is  so  far  away  that  with  the  un- 
thinkable speed  of  light  more  than  a  hundred 
years  must  be  required  for  it  to  come  from 
Arcturus  to  us.  If  the  star  were  blotted  out 
of  existence,  the  light  that  left  it  on  the  day 
of  the  catastrophe  would,  a  hundred  years 
later,  still  be  travelling  towards  us  and  we 
should  probably  still  be  in  ignorance  of  the 
fate  of  the  star.  Astronomers  are  fond  of 
saying,  and  it  is  strictly  true,  that  we  see  the 
stars  only  as  they  have  been  and  never  as 
they  are. 

Arcturus  ranks  with  Canopus  as  one  of  the 
largest  bodies  in  the  universe.  The  diame- 
ter of  our  own  sun  is  more  than  866,000  miles, 
yet  the  sun  is  small  in  comparison  with 
Arcturus,  whose  diameter  is  supposed  to  be 
several  millions  of  miles.  It  is  said  also  to 
be  probably  the  hottest  star  in  the  universe ; 
but  this  perhaps  may  prove  to  be  a  too 
precipitate  statement.  Actual  results  from 
41 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

experimental  measurements  of  the  heat  of 
stars  are  very  few,  though  Arcturus  has  been 
shown  to  give  out  more  heat  than  Vega,  an- 
other star  with  which  it  has  been  directly 
compared. 

These  facts  are,  perhaps,  not  what  we  most 
want  to  have  in  mind  when  we  gaze  into  the 
face  of  Arcturus  with  its  clear,  steady  light, 
but  they  must  have  their  part  in  the  sum  of 
its  general  characteristics  and  some  influence 
in  determining  our  feeling  towards  the  star. 

Arcturus  has  the  distinction  of  having  the 
most  rapid  motion  of  any  of  the  brightest 
stars  and  it  is  among  the  swiftest  moving 
of  all  the  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 
Enormous  body  as  it  is,  we  know  that  it  is 
bowling  along  through  space  at  the  rate  of 
between  two  and  three  hundred  miles  a 
second.  It  has  been  doing  this  for  untold 
centuries,  and  yet  it  does  not  change  its 
position  to  our  view  a  distance  of  more  than 
one-eighth  of  the  apparent  diameter  of  the 
moon  in  a  century.  This  is,  however,  an 
enormous  change  for  a  "fixed"  star  and  will, 
in  the  course  of  ages,  make  an  important 
difference  in  the  position  of  Arcturus  among 
the  other  stars. 

It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  this  bright  star 
42 


ARCTURUS 

is  approaching  us,  though  it  lessens  the  dis- 
tance between  itself  and  us  only  at  the  rate 
of  about  five  miles  a  second,  a  very  loitering 
gait  in  comparison  with  the  speed  of  stars  in 
general.  The  most  that  it  can  mean  to  us  is 
that  Arcturus  will  not  grow  less  bright  in  our 
skies,  for  at  this  rate  of  approach  untold  cen- 
turies must  pass  before  the  distance  between 
us  and  the  star  is  lessened  so  as  to  make 
any  appreciable  increase  in  its  brightness. 
Such  increase,  indeed,  possibly  never  will 
be  made ;  for  Arcturus  is  growing  old,  and  it 
may  be  that  its  lustre  will  diminish  as  its 
distance  decreases. 

Arcturus  lies  in  the  constellation  Bootes 
and  is,  of  course,  its  brightest  star. 


SPICA 

ANOTHER  bright  star,  and  one  that 
r\  comes  into  view  not  long  after  Arcturus, 
is  Spica.  It  is  not  so  bright  as  Arcturus,  but 
is  still  a  conspicuously  brilliant  star.  Among 
the  twenty  brightest  it  is  the  fifteenth  in 
order  of  brilliancy.  It  can  be  found  by 
extending  the  line  from  the  end  of  the  handle 
of  the  Dipper  through  Arcturus  and  about 
thirty  degrees  beyond,  still  following  the 
curve.  It  is  about  as  far  from  Arcturus  as 
Arcturus  is  from  the  handle  of  the  Dipper. 
A  straight  line  beginning  at  the  pointer 
nearest  the  pole,  running  through  the  star 
at  the  bottom  of  the  Dipper  on  the  handle 
side,  and  extended  about  sixty-five  degrees 
farther  on,  will  also  point  out  Spica. 

Spica  rises  a  very  little  south  of  the  exact 
eastern  point  on  the  horizon  and  becomes 
visible  about  an  hour  later  than  Arcturus. 
44 


SPICA 

It  is  the  only  very  bright  star  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  heavens  during  the  early 
spring  months,  and  one  cannot  easily  fail 
to  identify  it  even  without  the  specific 
directions  for  finding  it  that  are  here  given. 
It  first  attracts  one's  attention  in  the  early 
evening  about  the  middle  of  March,  at  which 
time  it  rises  about  eight  o'clock  and  by  nine 
has  cleared  its  face  of  the  haziness  of  the 
lower  atmosphere  and  is  shining  with  a  clear 
white  light. 

Spica  does  not  make  so  long  a  sweep  across 
the  heavens  as  Capella  and  Arcturus  do. 
It  is  one  of  the  stars  that  lie  a  little  south  of 
the  celestial  equator,  and  at  the  highest 
point  in  its  journey  across  the  sky  it  is  still 
to  the  south  of  us  and  almost  one-half  of 
the  way  up  from  the  horizon  to  the  point 
exactly  overhead,  which  we  call  the  zenith. 
It  takes  five  hours  and  a  half  to  reach  its 
highest  point  and  as  many  more  to  travel  to 
the  southwestern  horizon,  where  it  sets  eleven 
hours  after  it  has  risen. 

Spica  rises  just  after  the  sun  sets  in  the  early 
part  of  April;  and  during  April  and  May  it 
is  at  its  best  in  the  eastern  evening  sky. 
Its  position,  however,  keeping  it  always 
comparatively  low  in  the  sky  to  our  view, 

4  45 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

makes  it  easy  to  observe  at  all  times  when  it 
is  visible.  During  the  short  evenings  in 
June  it  is  seen  bearing  off  towards  the 
southwest,  where  in  August  it  sets  about  ten 
o'clock,  in  September  at  about  eight  o'clock, 
and  in  October  about  the  same  time  that  the 
sun  goes  down.  It  can  be  seen  between 
sunset  and  midnight  in  some  part  of  the 
sky  from  the  middle  of  February  to  the  early 
part  of  October.  In  November,  December, 
and  January  it  rises  between  midnight  and 
dawn,  so  that  October  is  the  only  month 
during  which  it  is  most  of  the  time  invisible. 
This  is  because  it  lies  in  the  constellation 
Virgo,  or  the  Virgin,  through  which  the  sun 
is  passing  in  October,  and  the  star  is  lost 
in  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Spica  lies  almost  on 
the  ecliptic,  which  is  the  line  that  marks  the 
annual  path  of  the  sun  through  the  heavens. 
Spica 's  color  (white)  shows  it  to  be  in  an 
earlier  stage  of  existence  than  the  yellow 
stars;  hence  it  is  known  to  be  a  much  more 
tenuous,  or  rarefied,  body  than  either  Capella 
or  Arcturus.  It  is  one  of  the  stars  so  far 
away  that  we  have  never  been  able  to 
measure  its  distance.  Shining  so  brightly  as 
it  does  at  an  immeasurable  distance,  it  must 
be  of  immense  size  and  perhaps  thousands  of 
46 


SPICA 

times  brighter  than  our  sun.  The  spectro- 
scope has  revealed  that  it  is  probably  a  double 
star  and  that  it  is  moving  towards  the  earth 
at  the  rate  of  more  than  fourteen  miles  a 
second.  Perhaps  in  ages  to  come  it  will  be 
near  enough  to  yield  some  clue  to  its  distance. 
The  name  Spica  means  an  ear  of  wheat, 
and  the  star  marks  the  spot  in  the  con- 
stellation Virgo  where  the  Virgin  holds  in 
her  hand  a  spear  of  wheat. 


VI 

VEGA 

ABOUT  three  hours  after  Arcturus  has 
risen  there  will  come  peeping  over  the 
northeastern  horizon  a  brilliant,  bluish  star 
which  twinkles  so  gayly  and  commands  such 
instant  admiration  that  its  entrance  into 
view  has  almost,  a  dramatic  effect.  This  is 
Vega,  the  third  of  the  trio  of  bright  stars 
that  give  a  May  -  dance  around  the  pole. 
Her  companions,  bright  Capella  and  steady- 
shining  Arcturus,  are  already  gliding  smooth- 
ly over  the  shining  surface  of  the  sky  when 
she,  clearing  the  tree-tops  almost  with  a 
bound,  lightly  springs  into  view  and  the 
vernal  festival  is  on. 

The  point  on  the  horizon  at  which  Vega 
makes  her  appearance  is  about  fifty  degrees 
from  the  pole.  She  lacks  about  seven  degrees 
of  being  as  far  north  as  Capella,  and  is  nearly 
twenty  degrees  farther  north  than  Arcturus. 
48 


VEGA 

To  find  Vega,  draw  a  line  from  the  star  at 
the  junction  of  the  bowl  and  the  handle  of 
the  Dipper  to  Polaris.  Then  draw  a  line  at 
right-angles  to  this  nearly  forty  degrees  in 
length  and  on  the  same  side  of  the  Dipper 
from  which  the  handle  projects,  and  it  will 
point  out  the  brilliant,  beautiful  Vega.  The 
star  is  the  only  conspicuous  one  in  the 
region  described,  and  no  other  star  can  be 
mistaken  for  it. 

Vega  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  pole 
from  Capella,  but  the  two  stars  are  usually 
seen  in  the  sky  at  the  same  time.  In  the 
spring,  when  Vega  decks  the  eastern  heavens, 
Capella  glows  in  the  northwest.  In  the 
autumn,  when  Capella  comes  sparkling  over 
the  dark  purple  sky  in  the  northeast,  Vega 
may  be  seen  flying  with  its  attendant  stars 
down  towards  the  northwest.  Each  one  is 
hidden  below  the  horizon  for  the  few  hours 
that  the  other  holds  the  centre  of  the  celestial 
stage  and  is  at  its  highest  point  in  its  nightly 
course  across  the  jewelled  dome  of  the  sky. 

Making  Vega  the  starting-point  of  measure- 
ment, Arcturus  is  about  one-third  of  the  way 
between  Vega  and  Capella,  though  a  little 
farther  away  from  the  pole.  His  part  in  the 
gay  spring  festivities  is  very  conspicuous, 
49 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

and  at  that  time  the  three  stars  are  closely 
associated  in  their  splendid,  twinkling  circuit 
around  the  pole  which  it  may  please  our 
fancy  to  watch  during  the  first  soft  nights  of 
spring.  In  the  autumn,  when  Vega  and 
Capella  have  changed  places  in  the  evening 
skies,  Arcturus  is  below  the  horizon  and 
cannot  be  seen. 

If  one  is  in  any  doubt  about  the  identity 
of  Vega,  it  can  always  be  recognized  at  a 
glance  by  the  fact  that  there  is  following  it 
four  dainty  stars  arranged  in  an  oblique 
parallelogram. 

The  position  shown  in  the  drawing  is  the 
one  they  always  hold  relative  to  Vega. 


:1V 

\ 


\ 


\ 

• v 

VEGA  AS  SHE  APPEARS  IN  THE  EAST 


When  we  see  her  in  the  east  as  she  brightens 

the  evening  view  in  the  spring  and  early 

5° 


VEGA 

summer  the  four  stars  are  to  the  east  of,  or 
below,  her;  in  the  late  autumn  and  winter, 
when  the  constellation  is  in  the  western  sky, 
the  position  of  the  stars,  as  it  appears  to  us, 
is  partly  reversed,  and,  with  Vega  leading 
them  towards  the  northwestern  horizon, 
they  appear  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 


VEGA   AND  HER  ATTENDANT   STARS  IN   THE   NORTHWEST 

Vega,  like  Capella,  can  be  seen  in  our 
latitude  at  some  time  during  the  night  every 
night  in  the  year.  One  can  see  it  even  be- 
tween sunset  and  midnight  every  night  in 
the  year.  But  to  do  this  it  will  be  necessary 
to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  low  in  the  north- 
west very  early  in  the  evenings  in  February 
and  to  turn  just  as  sharp  eyes  towards  the 
northeast  between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock 
in  the  early  part  of  March.  As  April  pro- 
gresses the  star  more  and  more  asserts  its 
51 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

supremacy  in  the  northeastern  heavens. 
During  the  latter  part  of  this  month  and  all 
of  May  it  is  singularly  beautiful  as  it  passes 
almost  airily  between  us  and  the  rich  dark 
background  so  full  of  color  characteristic  of 
the  spring-time  sky. 

Vega  is  the  chief  star  in  the  constellation 
called  the  Lyre — once  fancied  to  be  the  magic 
lyre  which  in  Orpheus 's  hands  gave  forth 
music  that  tamed  wild  beasts  and  chained 
the  rivers  in  their  courses.  It  is  easy  to  get 
some  sense  of  the  fancy  that  gave  the  con- 
stellation its  name  as  we  watch  it  during  the 
lovely  spring  evenings  floating  lightly  in  the 
sky,  the  parallel  lines  connecting  its  principal 
stars  vaguely  suggestive,  to  the  willing  mind, 
of  some  quaint  stringed  instrument  that  un- 
der a  magic  touch  might  send  out  heavenly 
music  through  the  resonant  air. 

Early  in  May  the  star  rises  at  about  the 
same  hour  that  the  sun  sets,  and  all  summer 
long  it  is  the  gayest  and  perhaps  the  most 
instantly  attractive  star  in  the  evening  skies. 
It  is  the  star  so  often  noticed  and  commented 
on  as  shining  with  great  brilliancy  directly 
overhead  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  dur- 
ing the  hot  summer  evenings  of  July  and 
August.  When  autumn  comes  it  has  passed 
S2 


VEGA 

the  highest  point  in  its  journey  across  the 
heavens  and  may  be  seen  travelling  towards 
the  northwest.  Here  it  shines  splendidly 
during  the  early  evening,  setting  in  Decem- 
ber somewhere  near  eleven  o'clock  and  in 
January  about  nine.  It  is  above  the  horizon 
eighteen  hours  out  of  each  twenty-four  and 
rises  six  hours  after  it  has  set. 

Vega  is  the  most  brilliant  star  in  the  skies 
of  the  northern  hemisphere,  though  its 
supremacy  is  closely  contested  by  Capella 
and  Arcturus.  There  are  only  three  stars 
in  the  entire  heavens,  north  or  south,  that 
are  brighter.  These  are  Sirius,  Canopus, 
and  Alpha  Centauri,  all  stars  of  the  south- 
ern hemisphere.  Sirius,  as  we  know,  can 
be  seen  in  our  latitude,  but  it  lies  south  of 
the  celestial  equator,  and  is,  therefore,  called 
a  southern  star.  The  other  two  lie  so 
far  south  that  they  do  not  come  within  our 
view. 

Vega  is  one  of  the  very  large  suns  of  the 
universe  and  gives  out  about  ninety  times 
as  much  light  as  our  sun.  Its  distance  is 
such  that  it  requires  about  twenty -nine 
years  for  light  to  travel  from  it  to  us,  which 
shows  it  to  be  somewhat  nearer  to  us  than 
Capella  and  very  much  nearer  than  Arcturus. 
53 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

It  is  coming  nearer  all  the  time,  too.  Thirty- 
four  miles  a  second  is  about  the  rate  at  which 
it  is  approaching  us ;  but,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  it  will  take  many  centuries  for  even 
such  almost  incredible  speed  as  that  to  make 
any  appreciable  difference  to  us  in  the  bright- 
ness of  a  star. 

Vega  is  the  same  type  of  star  as  Spica. 
It  is  in  a  much  earlier  stage  of  development, 
and,  consequently,  is  a  much  less  solid  body 
than  either  Capella  or  Arcturus.  It  is  also 
less  hot  than  either  of  these  two  stars;  for 
they  are  like  our  sun,  and  the  solar  type  of 
star  is  now  supposed  to  be  at  its  hottest 
stage. 

Vega  has  a  companion  star,  much  smaller 
than  itself,  revolving  around  it,  which  is  of 
the  same  beautiful  bluish  color  as  the  larger 
star.  The  companion  is  of  about  the  tenth 
magnitude  and  can  be  seen  only  with  a  large 
telescope.  Vega  is  about  four  thousand 
times  brighter  than  her  companion. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  about 
Vega  is  that  it  seems  to  mark,  or  nearly 
mark,  the  point  towards  which  our  sun  with 
all  his  planets  is  travelling. 


VII 

DENEB,    OR   ARIDED 

A  LITTLE  more  than  an  hour  after  Vega 
/i  has  risen,  a  very  bright  twinkling  star 
will  appear  on  the  northeastern  horizon  at 
a  point  about  forty-five  degrees  from  the 
Pole  Star.  This  is  Deneb,  next  to  the  least 
bright  of  the  twenty  brightest  stars,  but  a 
very  interesting  and  beautiful  star.  It  lies 
in  one  of  the  densest  parts  of  the  Milky  Way 
and  is  conspicuously  brilliant  in  contrast 
with  the  hazy  light  of  the  myriads  of  small 
stars  that  go  to  make  up  this  mysterious 
belt  of  shining  bodies. 

Deneb  is  about  six  degrees  farther  north 
than  Vega  and  only  about  one  degree  farther 
south  than  Capella,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  the  northernmost  of  all  the  bright  stars. 
To  the  ordinary  view  Deneb  and  Capella 
seem  to  rise  at  about  the  same  spot  on  the 
horizon,  and  they  describe  very  much  the 
55 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

same  long,  oblique  curve  across  the  heavens 
as  they  pass  from  rising  to  setting.  Capella 
being  a  little  farther  north,  is  above  the 
horizon  perhaps  half  an  hour  longer  than 
Deneb;  but  they  each  take  approximately 
ten  hours  to  come  to  the  highest  point  in  their 
path  across  the  sky,  and,  consequently,  in  a 
favorable  atmosphere,  can  be  seen  for  about 
twenty  hours  each  day,  except  when  they 
are  obscured  by  the  sunlight.  The  highest 
point  a  star  ever  reaches  in  its  daily  course 
over  the  heavens  is  marked  by  what  as- 
tronomers call  its  meridian,  and  when  it 
is  at  this  point  it  is  said  to  be  "on  the 
meridian." 

A  line  drawn  from  Polaris  to  Deneb  and 
thence  on  to  Vega  forms  a  right-angled 
triangle  of  which  Deneb  lies  in  the  right- 
angle. 

Deneb  forms  a  part  of  a  figure  called  the 
Northern  Cross,  which  extends  over  the 
Milky  Way  something  more  than  twenty 
degrees.  The  figure  serves  to  identify  the 
star,  but  it  is  a  rather  ill-formed  cross  and 
not  much  more  like  a  true  one  than  the  far- 
famed  Southern  Cross,  which  is  so  impres- 
sively described  by  travellers  in  southern 
latitudes  and  is  so  disappointing,  on  first 
56 


DENEB,  OR    ARIDED 

sight,  to  the  observer  who  expects  accurate 
rather  than  suggestive  outlines  in  the  con- 
stellations. 

Deneb  is  the  star  at  the  head  of  the  up- 
right of  the  cross.     In  the  spring,  when  it 


TRIANGLE   FORMED  BY   POLARIS,   DENEB,   AND   VEGA 

rises  in  the  northeast,  the  cross  is  almost 
upside  down,  and  Deneb  comes  up  last. 
When  the  cross  is  setting  in  the  northwest, 
its  position  is  partly  reversed,  so  that  it 
57 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

seems  more  nearly  upright,  and  Deneb  dis- 
appears last. 

While  this  figure  is  commonly  spoken  of  as 
the  Northern  Cross,  it  is  really  only  a  part  of 


THE    NORTHERN    CROSS 


a  larger  constellation  known  as  Cygnus,  or 
the  Swan,  and  this  is  the  name  used  by 
astronomers  in  referring  to  the  constellation 
in  which  Deneb  is  found.  It  was  named  by 
the  ancient  astronomers,  and  was  thought 
by  them  to  suggest  the  figure  of  a  flying 
swan,  the  out-stretched  wings  being  rep- 
resented by  the  stars  which  form  the  arms 
of  the  cross.  The  head  is  marked  by  the 
58 


DENEB,   OR    ARIDED 

star  at  the  base  of  the  cross,  and  in  the  tail 
is  Deneb.  The  name  "Deneb"  means  "the 
tail,"  and  the  star  gets  its  name  from  its 
position  in  the  constellation.  Deneb  is 
sometimes  called  Arided,  an  Arabic  word 
which  means  "the  hindmost." 

The  swan  represented  by  this  constellation 
was  supposed  to  be  the  one  whose  form 
Jupiter  assumed  when  he  visited  Leda  in- 
cognito; and  having  served  the  purpose  of 
the  god,  what  more  natural  than  that  its 
empty  but  sacred  form  should  be  placed 
forever  in  the  heavens  ? 

Though  there  are  nineteen  other  stars 
(fourteen  in  our  latitude)  that  seem  to  us 
brighter  than  Deneb,  it  probably  exceeds 
most  of  them  in  size  and  would  hold  a  much 
higher  rank  as  to  brilliancy  if  it  were  as  near 
as  some  of  the  brightest  of  the  stars.  Its 
distance  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  known, 
though  some  astronomers  believe  that  at 
least  approximate  measurements  of  it  have 
been  secured.  If  these  measurements  are 
correct,  they  show  that  the  star  is  so  far  away 
that  its  light  cannot  reach  us  in  less  than 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  years,  and 
it  may  take  even  longer  than  that.  This 
means  that  it  is  so  many  thousands  of 
59 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

millions  of  miles  away  that  if  its  distance 
were  expressed  in  figures  they  would  mean 
more  than  the  mind  can  grasp. 

Deneb  is  white  in  color  and  is  of  the  same 
class  of  stars  as  Spica  and  Vega,  being  in  an 
early  stage  of  its  existence  as  a  glowing  star. 
The  spectroscope  shows  that  at  present  it  is 
approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  about  thirty 
miles  a  second. 

Deneb,  like  Capella  and  Vega,  can  be  seen 
at  some  time  between  sunset  and  midnight 
every  night  in  the  year.  It  is  closely  asso- 
ciated with  Vega  as  an  ornament  of  the  sky, 
because  they  adorn  the  same  portion  of  the 
heavens  at  the  same  season.  Following 
almost  in  the  wake  of  so  dazzling  a  star  as 
Vega,  Deneb  may  at  first  excite  less  inter- 
est and  admiration  than  is  its  due;  but  a 
closer  acquaintance  with  its  sparkling  face 
will  show  that  its  beauty  is  no  more  eclipsed 
by  Vega  than  the  low  nodding  anemones 
are  eclipsed  by  the  splendor  of  the  mag- 
nolias. They  each  have  their  own  individual 
charm. 

Deneb  arrives  at  the  spring  gathering  in 

the  east  an  hour  later  than  Vega,  but,  being 

farther   north,   it  pursues   a   longer  course, 

and,  coming  leisurely  to  the  western  sky,  it 

60 


DENEB,  OR    ARIDED 

lingers  in  our  view  each  day  for  three  hours 
after  Vega  has  gone.  Deneb  is  particularly 
attractive  in  this  part  of  its  path  during  the 
early  evening  in  January  and  February. 
It  is  then  rather  low  in  the  northwest,  and 
with  Vega  gone  and  no  other  bright  star 
very  near,  it  has  a  more  commanding  charm. 
In  the  heavier  atmosphere,  which  induces  a 
more  rapid  twinkling,  the  star  seems  to  take 
on  an  accession  of  gayety  and  goes  fairly 
dancing  down  behind  the  horizon,  where  it 
finishes  its  circle  and  appears  again  in  the 
northeast  about  four  hours  later. 

Deneb  rises  just  after  the  sun  sets  about 
the  middle  of  May  and  sets  about  an  hour 
after  sun-down  during  the  early  part  of 
March. 

Inasmuch  as  Deneb  is  so  far  distant,  it  is 
interesting  to  know  that  in  the  same  con- 
stellation (Cygnus)  and  not  many  degrees 
east  of  Deneb,  or  below  it  as  it  rises,  lies  a 
star  famous  as  being  the  first  star  whose 
distance  from  us  was  measured.  It  is  but 
little  more  than  seven  light  years  away, 
and  until  the  nearness  of  Alpha  Centauri  was 
discovered,  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  nearest 
to  us  of  all  the  stars.  Two  others  are  now 
known  to  be  nearer.  This  little  star  has  no 

s  61 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

name  of  its  own,  and  is  known  only  as  61 
Cygni,  its  catalogue  designation.  It  is  not 
much  more  than  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
but  can  be  seen  by  a  keen  eye  on  a  clear 
night.  Its  position  is  marked  on  the  dia- 
gram of  the  cross  on  page  58. 

The  star  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  or  in  the 
beak  of  the  swan,  as  one  chooses  to  figure 
the  constellation,  is  Albireo,  a  fine  double 
star.  It  is  easily  resolved  into  two  stars 
by  a  small  telescope  and  is  notable  on  ac- 
count of  the  strong  contrast  in  color  between 
the  two  stars  composing  it.  One  is  a  deep 
blue,  and  the  other  a  bright  orange. 


VIII 

ALT AIR 

ALINE  about  eighty  degrees  in  length 
drawn  from  the  pole  towards  the  south 
and  running  about  half-way  between  Deneb 
and  Vega  will  point  to  the  brilliant  white 
star  Altair.  It  is  almost  twenty  degrees 
directly  south  from  Albireo,  mentioned  in  the 
last  chapter  as  marking  the  base  of  the 
Northern  Cross.  It  lies  just  at  the  edge  of 
the  Milky  Way ;  and,  for  any  one  who  has 
learned  the  position  of  Deneb,  it  will  be  easy 
to  find  Altair  by  running  the  eye  down  the 
Milky  Way  from  Deneb  along  the  upright  of 
the  Cross  to  Albireo  at  the  foot  of  it,  and 
thence  on  twenty  degrees,  or  to  the  first  very 
bright  star,  which  will  be  no  other  than 
Altair. 

The  constellation  in  which  Altair  is  situ- 
ated is  known  as  Aquila,  or  the  eagle;  and 
Altair  is  the  middle  one  of  three  fairly  bright 
63 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

stars  placed  with  reference  to  each  other  in 
a  straight  line. 

The  lines  between  Altair  and  Deneb  and 
Vega  form  an  acute-angled  triangle  with  the 


ALTAIR    AND    ITS    TWO    COMPANIONS 

short  side  towards  the  north  and  Altair  at 
the  apex  at  the  south. 

Altair  rises  about  eight  degrees  north  of 
the  exact  eastern  point  on  the  horizon  and 
about  ten  degrees  south  of  the  spot  where 
Arcturus  first  appears.  It  is  the  only  very 
bright  star  in  this  region  of  the  sky,  and  there 
will  be  no  trouble  in  identifying  it.  One 
of  the  interesting  figures  which  serve  to 
mark  the  locality  is  a  small  diamond-shaped 
cluster  formed  by  four  stars  lying  about  ten 
degrees  northeast  of  Altair. 
64 


ALTAIR 

This  cluster  is  known  sometimes  as  Del- 
phinus,  or  the  Dolphin,  but  more  popularly 
as  "Job's  Coffin."  Why  the  figure  should 
suggest  a  coffin  rather  than  a  dolphin,  it  is 
not  easy  to  see.  It  can  hardly  be  said  to 
much  resemble  either  object. 

Among  the  stars  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, Altair  is  the  first  bright  star  to  claim 


Q/tfta/r 

DENEB,  ALTAIR,  AND  VEGA 

our  attention  in  the  east  after  Vega  and 

Deneb  have  made  their  brilliant  close  to  the 

gathering  of  the  stars  of  spring.     Capella  is 

65 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

within  two  hours  of  setting  in  the  northwest, 
Arcturus  is  nearing  the  highest  point  in  his 
course  across  the  heavens,  Spica  has  reached 
the  meridian,  and  Vega  is  about  half-way 


THE    DOLPHIN,    OR  JOB'S   COFFIN 

up  to  the  zenith,  when,  on  the  first  of  June, 
between  half -past  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  Altair  makes  its  gracious  en- 
trance into  the  starry  company.  With  one 
exception,  it  is  the  most  attractive  of  the 
stars  that  rise  during  the  early  evening  in 
summer.  By  the  middle  of  the  first  summer 
month  there  is  a  lull  in  the  noisy  rush  of  the 
on-coming  season.  The  dazzling  blossoms 
66 


ALTAIR 

of  the  fruit  trees  are  scattered  and  almost 
forgotten,  while  the  tiny  green  outlines  of 
the  fruit  are  quietly  swelling  towards  their 
perfect  form.  The  leaves  on  the  forest  trees 
have  assumed  their  proper  shape  and  are 
gradually  expanding  to  full  size.  The  old- 
fashioned  annual  roses  are  in  their  fullest 
glory.  The  blue  jays  have  become  stealthy 
and  quiet;  and  most  of  the  birds,  while  still 
in  full  song,  have  given  over  the  frolicsome 
hilarity  of  the  spring  for  the  serious  work  of 
the  nesting- time. 

Then  there  comes  a  soft  June  evening, 
with  its  lovely  twilight  that  begins  with  the 
last  song  of  the  wood-thrush  and  ends  with 
the  first  strenuous  admonitions  of  the  whip- 
poorwill;  and,  almost  as  if  it  were  an  im- 
pulse of  nature,  one  walks  to  the  eastern  end 
of  the  porch  and  looks  for  Altair. 

It  is  sure  to  be  there  smiling  at  one  just 
over  the  tree-tops,  with  a  bright  companion 
on  either  side,  the  three  gently  advancing 
in  a  straight  line  as  if  they  were  walking  the 
Milky  Way  hand  in  hand  and  three  abreast. 

From  this  time  on  until  the  first  half  of 

December  is  past,  Altair  is  in  view  early  in 

the  evening.     Always  an  attractive  star,  it 

is  never  more  charming  than  it  is  along  in 

67 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

September  and  October.  It  is  then  due 
south  from  us  and  at  its  highest  point,  which 
is  about  two-thirds  of  the  way  up  from  the 
horizon  to  the  zenith,  and  this  favorable 
position,  added  to  the  peculiar  clearness  of 
the  autumn  sky,  brings  out  all  the  soft 
beauty  of  the  star. 

One  seldom  sees  Altair  during  the  first 
four  months  of  the  year.  Along  in  the  very 
first  days  of  January  a  prompt  lookout  and 
a  clear  sky  will  yield  a  glimpse  of  it  between 
sunset  and  seven  o'clock;  but  it  is  soon  lost 
in  the  glow  of  the  rapidly  lengthening  days. 
In  February,  March,  and  April  the  very  early 
riser  and  the  belated  watcher  after  midnight 
may  see  the  star  rise,  and  in  May,  as  the 
month  progresses,  it  becomes  a  more  and 
more  familiar  figure  in  the  east. 

There  is  nothing  spectacular  in  the  advent 
of  Altair,  and  one  does  not  watch  for  it  with 
the  same  eagerness  that  he  feels  when 
Arcturus  and  Vega  are  nearly  due.  It 
comes  gently  into  sight,  and  almost  before 
one  realizes  it  the  star  has  become  a  part  of 
the  evening  view.  Arcturus  and  Vega  sug- 
gest the  bustling  coming  of  spring.  The 
quiet  approach  of  summer  reminds  us  that 
Altair  is  here. 

68 


ALTAIR 

It  requires  about  thirteen  hours  for  Altair 
to  pass  from  its  rising  to  its  setting ;  six  hours 
and  a  half  to  reach  the  meridian,  and  six 
and  a  half  more  to  finish  its  diurnal  course. 
Remaining  so  low  in  the  sky  as  it  does,  one 
can  see  it  and  yet  remain  in  a  comfortable 
posture  during  its  entire  passage  across  the 
heavens.  This  adds  greatly  to  its  charm; 
for  any  star  is,  in  itself,  most  beautiful  when 
it  is  in  the  highest  and  clearest  part  of  the 
sky.  It  is  the  difficulty  of  seeing  it  there 
which  detracts  from  our  pleasure  in  it.  One 
cannot  come  into  any  great  fondness  for  a 
star  that  he  sees  only  by  snatches.  The 
stars  that  we  love  best  are  the  ones  into 
whose  faces  we  can  look  for  an  hour  at  a 
time,  if  our  fancy  so  leads  us.  It  is  truly 
star-gazing  that  brings  us  into  any  great 
delight  in  a  star. 

As  to  its  physical  development,  Altair  be- 
longs in  the  same  class  of  stars  as  Vega, 
Deneb,  and  Spica.  It  is  still  young,  and 
tenuous,  and  far  from  having  reached  that 
point  in  its  career  which  begins  the  path 
downward  to  solidification  and  darkness. 
Though  the  sun  gives  to  us  almost  ninety  bil- 
lion times  as  much  light  as  Altair,  the  star 
really  sends  abroad  nearly  ten  times  more 
69 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

light  than  the  sun.     Its  nearness  to  us  is  all 
that  makes  the  sun  so  much  brighter. 

And  yet  Altair  is  not  one  of  the  far  distant 
suns,  but  is  comparatively  near  us.  It  is 
less  than  four  times  as  far  away  as  the  nearest 
star  and  sends  its  light  to  us  in  about  fifteen 
years.  The  star  itself  is  approaching  us  at 
the  rate  of  about  twenty -seven  miles  a 
second,  or  more  than  eight  hundred  millions 
of  miles  a  year.  Yet  even  with  this  mar- 
vellous speeding  towards  us,  and  in  spite  of 
its  comparative  nearness,  considerably  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  years  would  be 
required  for  Altair  to  reach  the  place  in  the 
universe  that  is  now  occupied  by  us. 


IX 

ANTARES 

A 3 OUT  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the 
longest  day  in  June  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  favorable  time  to  look  for  Antares — a 
beautiful  star  in  a  beautiful  constellation. 
It  is  then  due  south  and  at  the  highest  point 
in  its  diurnal  path  across  the  heavens,  which 
never  takes  it  higher  than  a  little  more  than 
one-fourth  of  the  way  from  the  horizon  to 
the  zenith.  A  line  about  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  degrees  long  drawn  directly  south 
from  Polaris  and  passing  just  half-way  be- 
tween Arcturus  and  Vega  will  point  it  out, 
lying  in  the  heart  of  the  constellation  Scor- 
pius,  which  is  flung  out  over  the  southern  sky 
in  a  fine  sweep  that  wins  admiration  from  the 
most  casual  observer. 

Antares  is  also  indicated  by  a  line  drawn 
at  right  angles  to  the  line  connecting  Altair 
and  its  two  companions  and  extended  about 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

sixty  degrees,  or  to  the  first  brilliant  red 
star,  Antares,  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in  this 
most  interesting  region  of  the  skies.  An 


f 


SCORPIUS 

almost  equal-sided  triangle  about  fifty  degrees 
long  on  each  side  is  formed  by  the  lines  con- 
necting Antares,  Vega,  and  Arcturus,  which  is 
a  still  further  guide  to  the  location  of  the  star. 

72 


ANTARES 

An  tares  is  one  of  the  southern  stars,  which, 
as  has  been  explained,  are  the  stars  that  lie 
south  of  the  celestial  equator,  no  matter 
whether  they  are  visible  to  us  or  not.  It  is, 
with  one  exception,  farther  south  than  any 
other  of  the  very  bright  stars  (stars  of  the 
first  magnitude)  that  can  be  seen  in  our  lati- 
tude. It  rises  in  the  southeast  and  has  so 
short  a  course  over  which  to  pass,  in  our  view, 
that  it  reaches  the  half-way  point,  or  the 
meridian,  in  about  four  hours  and  a  quarter. 

Antares  conies  into  view  two  hours  and  a 
half  later  than  Vega,  an  hour  and  a  half 
later  than  Deneb,  and  nearly  an  hour  earlier 
than  Altair.  But  it  is  so  much  farther  south 
than  Altair  that  it  seems  more  aloof  from  us 
and  it  scarcely  emerges  from  the  hazy  lower 
atmosphere  until  Altair  is  shining  gayly  and 
has  already  become  one  of  the  important 
figures  in  the  eastern  summer  sky. 

While  the  latter  part  of  June  and  all  of 
July  are  perhaps  the  best  times  to  see  An- 
tares at  its  brightest,  it  is  an  interesting  star 
to  observe  much  earlier  in  the  season.  If 
one  has ,  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  south- 
eastern sky  down  almost  to  the  horizon,  he 
will  note  the  appearance  of  Antares  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  May  between  nine  and  ten 
73 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

o'clock  in  the  evening.  Before  one  has  really 
seen  the  star,  he  becomes  conscious  of  a 
ruddy  glow  low  in  the  southeast  that  at  once 
fastens  the  attention.  It  is  the  face  of 
Antares,  whose  red  light  shining  through  the 
heavy  atmosphere  is  so  diffused  that  it  gives 
a  rosy  effect  to  the  sky  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance around  the  star,  like  a  miniature  pre- 
sentment of  the  sun  as  it  rises  on  a  hazy 
morning.  This  is  all  the  more  noticeable  be- 
cause it  is  so  in  contrast  with  the  usual  colors 
of  early  May.  They  are  all  of  the  more 
delicate  and  colder  sort,  from  the  pinkish- 
lavender  and  white  of  the  young  leaves  that 
shimmer  over  the  landscape  to  the  pinkish- 
purple  of  the  sky  and  the  dazzling  white  and 
blue  of  Deneb  and  Vega  and  a  few  other 
stars  that  belong  particularly  to  this  season. 
The  fact  that  Antares,  when  it  is  visible 
at  all,  is  always  so  low  in  the  sky  and  so 
clearly  before  our  eyes  when  they  are  turned 
towards  the  south,  makes  it  a  constantly 
conspicuous  figure  in  the  heavens  during  its 
entire  stay.  It  is  fortunate  that  this  is  so, 
for  the  stay  of  Antares  is  short.  It  is  visible 
in  the  evening  between  sunset  and  midnight 
for  only  six  months,  and  during  only  one  of 
these  months  (June)  is  it  visible  all  night. 
74 


ANTARES 

In  November  and  December  and  most  of 
January  it  is  above  the  horizon  only  in  the 
daytime,  and  in  February,  March,  and  most 
of  April  it  is  not  high  enough  to  be  clearly 
visible  until  after  midnight.  In  the  early 
part  of  June  it  rises  just  as  the  sun  sets. 

I  am  not  sure  that  the  color  of  Antares  is 
any  reason  why  it  should  be  associated  with 
the  blooming  of  red  flowers ;  but  I  find  in  my 
journal  of  out-door  things  that  I  have  un- 
consciously made  the  association.  One  en- 
try, on  June  3oth,  says:  "Antares  is  shining 
splendidly  to-night  and  rivals  in  color  the 
wild  red  lilies  that  were  blooming  to-day  in 
the  coppice  down  beyond  the  spring."  An- 
other entry,  on  August  5th,  says:  "  We  found 
the  first  cardinal-flowers  to-day,"  and  a 
little  farther  on,  "  Antares  is  almost  as  red  as 
a  cardinal-flower  to-night."  It  is  certain 
that  the  wood  lilies  bloom  when  the  star  is 
at  the  culmination  of  its  summer  glory, 
and  the  cardinal-flower  sends  up  its  flaming 
stalks  when  the  star  is  speeding  after  the 
sun  and  sets  about  midnight.  Its  bright 
red  color,  too,  is  accentuated  when  Antares 
is  near  the  setting  -  point  in  the  southwest, 
just  as  when  it  was  rising  in  the  south- 
east. 

75 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Although  Antares  is  almost  strictly  a 
summer  star,  it  is  a  very  significant  object  in 
the  southwestern  heavens  during  September 
and  October  and  is  often  commented  on  at 
that  time  by  persons  who  have  not  noticed 
it  earlier  in  the  season.  The  dark  back- 
ground of  the  autumn  sky  throws  the  flaming 
face  of  the  star  into  relief,  and  its  redness 
is  still  further  intensified  by  the  white  sweep 
of  the  Milky  Way,  which  is  then  very  bright 
and  which  lies  within  a  few  degrees  of  Antares. 

The  constellation  of  which  Antares  forms 
a  part  (Scorpius)  represents  the  scorpion 
which  stung  Orion,  and  it  is  the  "hissing 
snake"  from  which  Spenser  represents  Orion 
as  ''flying  fast."  The  two  constellations  are 
so  placed  in  the  skies  that  Orion  dips  below 
the  western  horizon  just  as  Scorpius  rises 
in  the  east,  and  the  mighty  hunter  does  not 
return  until  the  Scorpion  is  gone.  They  can 
never  be  seen  at  the  same  time. 

The  color  of  Antares  indicates  that  it  is  an 
old  star,  far  advanced  in  its  development, 
and,  being  so,  it  does  not  give  out  as  much 
light  as  it  did  in  the  earlier  stages  of  its  exist- 
ence. But  with  all  its  waning,  it  still  gives 
nine  hundred  times  as  much  light  as  the  sun, 
and  hence  must  be  an  enormously  large  and 
76 


ANTARES 

brilliant  body.  It  is  one  of  the  very  remote 
stars,  requiring  more  than  one  hundred  and 
sixty- two  years  to  send  its  light  to  us. 

An  tares  is  one  of  a  binary  system.  Its 
companion  is  remarkable  for  its  color,  which 
is  a  bright  green  and  forms  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  scarlet  light  of  the  larger  star.  The 
companion  can  be  seen  with  a  moderately 
small  telescope,  being  only  two  degrees 
fainter  than  stars  that  can  be  seen  with  the 
unassisted  eye. 


X 

FOMALHAUT 

STILL  lower  in  the  southern  sky  than 
Antares  and  in  a  comparatively  star- 
less region  shines  Fomalhaut,  the  lonely,  the 
eighteenth  star  in  point  of  brightness  among 
all  the  stars  in  the  heavens  and  the  thirteenth 
among  those  that  can  be  seen  in  our  latitude. 
It  is  so  completely  isolated  from  other  bright 
stars  that  it  needs  no  line  to  especially  point 
it  out.  But  if  the  line  which  leads  from  the 
pointers  to  the  Pole  Star  were  extended 
beyond  the  pole  and  on  directly  south  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees,  it  would 
end  near  Fomalhaut.  This  will  be  an  easy 
line  to  trace  during  the  months  when 
Fomalhaut  is  visible,  for  the  pointers  will 
then  be  shifting  from  a  position  west  of  the 
pole  to  one  directly  under  it,  and  the  line 
will  have  a  free  path  across  the  heavens. 
The  star  may  be  easily  recognized  without 
any  other  description  than  that  it  is  at  the 
78 


FOMALHAUT 

end  of  a  zigzag  line  of  small  twinkling  stars 
which  runs  across  the  southern  sky  in  the 
autumn  and  points  unmistakably  to  Fomal- 
haut.  The  small  stars  represent  the  stream 
of  water  that  Aquarius  is  pouring  from  his 
urn.  The  stream  runs  to  the  constellation 
known  as  the  Southern  Fish  (Piscis  Aus- 
tralis),  and  Fomalhaut  marks  the  mouth  of 
the  fish. 

There  is  a  calm  dignity  about  this  star 
that  lends  much  interest  to  it.     It  comes 


'*< 
FOMALHAUT 


gently  into  view  far  down  in  the  southeast 
in  August,  but  with  so  little  of  a  flourish  that 
one  scarcely  notes  its  presence  until  along  in 
early  September.  Then,  when  the  days  are 
growing  shorter,  some  evening,  just  after 
dark,  one  sees  it,  a  conspicuous,  impressive 
object  serenely  trailing  along  over  the  small 
79 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

arc  of  its  circle  in  the  south  with  no  com- 
panion near  it,  and,  apparently,  no  need  of  one 
to  add  to  its  splendor. 

On  early  acquaintance  the  loneliness  of  the 
star,  added  to  the  sombre  signs  of  approach- 
ing autumn,  sometimes  gives  one  a  touch  of 
melancholy.  But  its  aspect  when  more 
familiar  soon  comes  to  suggest  only  sweetness 
and  serenity,  and  a  lover  of  Fomalhaut  feels 
that  a  sustaining  light  has  gone  when,  during 
the  last  of  December,  this  beautiful  star  sinks 
gently  down  in  the  southwest  and  disap- 
pears from  the  evening  sky  not  to  return  for 
more  than  seven  months.  One  loves  to 
think  that  during  these  seven  months  Fomal- 
haut is  making  a  lonely  but  majestic  sweep 
high  in  the  heavens  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere: a  sweep  something  larger  than 
Arcturus  makes  in  our  skies. 

Fomalhaut  and  Capella  rise  at  almost 
exactly  the  same  minute;  but  the  path  of 
Fomalhaut  across  the  sky  is  so  short  that  it 
has  finished  its  course  and  gone  from  view 
for  more  than  two  hours  and  a  half  before 
Capella  has  reached  its  half-way  point,  the 
meridian.  Rising  together  as  the  two  stars 
do,  one  seeks  to  continue  sorne  close  associa- 
tion between  them;  but  they  have  nothing 
80 


FOMALHAUT 

more  in  common.  In  the  course  each  has  to 
run  and  the  joy  each  has  to  give  they  are  as 
widely  divergent  as  two  royal  babes  born 
at  the  same  moment  on  different  sides  of  the 
globe. 

Fomalhaut  is  one  of  the  four  " royal" 
stars  of  astrology.  The  others  are  Regulus, 
An  tares,  and  Aldebaran. 

Only  eight  hours  are  required  for  Fomal- 
haut to  pass  from  rising  to  setting,  and  at  its 
highest  it  is  never  quite  one-fourth  of  the 
way  up  from  horizon  to  zenith.  It  is  the 
farthest  south  of  any  very  bright  star  visible 
in  our  latitude. 

Fomalhaut  is  distinctly  a  star  of  the  au- 
tumn. When  it  first  appears  in  August  the 
nights  have  already  begun  to  grow  longer, 
the  birds  have  ceased  to  sing  and  are  seeking 
the  deeper  shadows  of  the  woods  in  which  to 
shed  their  summer  suits,  and  the  quiet  of 
autumn  is  everywhere  stealthily  creeping 
upon  us.  At  the  time  of  the  equinox,  in 
September,  the  star  rises  about  an  hour  after 
night  falls  and  is  on  the  meridian  between 
ten  and  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  About 
the  middle  of  October  it  rises  as  the  sun 
sets  and  shines  until  two  o'clock  during  the 
first  white  frosty  nights.  In  November  and 
81 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

December,  when  even  the  most  hardy  in- 
sects have  stopped  their  shrill  notes  and  the 
winter  stillness  has  fallen  upon  us,  a  glance 
towards  the  southwest  will  discover  Fomal- 
haut,  still  placid  and  alone,  on  its  way  to 
adorn  the  warmer  southern  skies,  its  serenity 
in  no  wise  disturbed  and  its  beauty  in  no  wise 
eclipsed  by  the  more  spectacular  entrance 
of  the  brilliant  winter  stars  now  gathering 
in  the  east. 

Notwithstanding  that  to  our  view  Fomal- 
haut  is  eclipsed  in  brightness  by  seventeen 
other  stars,  it  actually  gives  out  twenty-one 
times  as  much  light  as  the  sun.  While  not 
one  of  our  nearest  neighbors  among  the  stars, 
it  is  still  not  so  very  far  away,  for  its  light 
reaches  us  after  a  journey  through  space  of 
only  twenty-one  years.  There  are  only  four 
other  stars  among  the  twenty  brightest  that 
are  known  to  be  nearer  to  us. 

So  far  as  has  yet  been  discovered,  Fomal- 
haut  has  no  companion  star.  It  is  not  only 
in  a  more  or  less  starless  region  to  our  view, 
but  its  loneliness  seems  to  be  actual. 


XI 

ALDEBARAN 

r"pHE  stars  thus  far  described  have  a  par- 
1  ticular  connection  with  the  spring,  sum- 
mer, and  autumn  months.  Capella,  it  is 
true,  shines  throughout  the  winter;  but  it 
can  be  seen  while  the  evenings  are  pleasant, 
and  as  it  is  in  the  most  convenient  positions 
for  observation  in  the  spring  and  fall,  it 
belongs,  in  large  part,  to  the  out-door  season. 
There  are,  however,  six  brilliant  stars  that 
are  distinctly  of  the  winter.  They  are  not 
only  of  the  same  season,  but  they  belong  in 
a  way  together,  for  they  are  in  constellations 
that  join  each  other  and  spread  out  in  a 
splendid  panorama  across  the  southern  skies, 
making  the  most  dazzling  display  of  fixed 
stars  that  any  part  of  the  heavens  affords. 
They  are  Aldebaran,  Betelgeuse,  Rigel, 
Pollux,  Procyon,  and  Sirius. 

Of  these  six  stars  Aldebaran  is  the  first  to 
83 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

appear.  Along  in  September,  a  very  little 
north  of  east  it  shows  its  fiery  face  above  the 
horizon  with  such  unmistakable  individuality 
that  it  catches  the  eye  of  even  the  least  ob- 
serving. It  appears  at  a  point  about  thirty 
degrees  farther  south  than  Capella  and  rises 
about  two  hours  and  a  half  later  than  that 
bright  star.  But  it  is  hardly  less  conspicu- 
ous, for  though  its  actual  brightness  is  rated 
nearly  a  magnitude  lower  than  Capella  's,  it 
glows  with  a  rosy  light  that  demands  rec- 
ognition and  at  once  pronounces  it  one  of  the 
most  important  heavenly  bodies. 

Aldebaran  lies  at  the  lower  end  of  a  bright 
V-shaped  cluster  of  stars  known  as  the  Hyades. 


THE    HYADES 

The  cluster  is  in  the  head  of  the  great  con- 
stellation Taurus,  or  the  Bull,  and  the  star 
itself  marks  the  fiery  eye  of  the  enraged  bull 
as  he  lowers  his  head  for  a  lunge  at  Orion. 
84 


ALDEBARAN 

It  is  difficult  to  miss  finding  Aldebaran  if 
one  watches  in  the  region  indicated,  during 
late  September  or  early  October,  for  the  first 
bright  star  that  rises  after  Capella.  The 
locality  is  still  more  distinctly  marked  if 
one  chances  to  know  the  shimmering  light 
of  the  Pleiades,  which  are  in  the  same  con- 
stellation as  Aldebaran  and  constitute  the 
one  group  of  stars  that  is  usually  familiar 
to  the  youth  who  celebrate  Hallowe'en. 
Aldebaran  shoots  its  ruddy  face  above  the 
horizon  just  an  hour  after  the  hazy  little 
dipper  of  the  Pleiades  has  appeared  and  the 
star  is  then  to  the  east  of,  and,  hence,  almost 
directly  under,  the  Pleiades.  This  following 
of  the  Pleiades  is  what  gives  Aldebaran  its 
name,  which  means  "the  hindmost,"  or  "the 
follower." 

Aldebaran  shines  in  the  evening  skies  for 
about  eight  months  in  the  year.  It  becomes 
a  fixed  ornament  of  the  eastern  sky  about  the 
last  of  September,  when  it  rises  between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock.  The  ruby  Antares  has 
been  below  the  western  horizon  for  nearly  an 
hour  when  the  still  brighter  ruby  Aldebaran 
comes  into  view  in  the  east.  The  two  stars 
can  never  be  seen  at  the  same  time  and  they 
do  not  at  all  resemble  each  other  except  in 
85 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

color.  Even  in  this  respect  they  differ,  for 
Antares  is  a  deeper  red  than  Aldebaran, 
though  not  so  bright  a  star.  But  as  one 
watches  the  slow  sinking  of  red  Antares  in 
the  southwest,  and  gives  a  sigh  of  regret 
when  he  has  entirely  disappeared,  it  seems 
but  a  natural  association  that  draws  one's 
eye  towards  the  east  to  watch  with  eager- 
ness for  ruddy  Aldebaran  to  give  that  touch 
of  color  which  the  sky  seems  to  lack. 

In  astrology  these  two  stars  were  known 
as  "royal"  stars,  and  there  is  a  whimsical 
suggestion  of  royalty  in  them  now  as  the 
one  slips  away  from  our  admiring  gaze  and 
we  turn  to  hail  the  coming  of  the  other. 
1  'The  king  is  dead!  Long  live  the  king!" 

In  his  section  of  the  sky  Aldebaran  reigns 
throughout  all  the  lovely  autumn  evenings, 
with  beautiful  Capella  in  her  own  realm  to 
the  north  of  him  and  Fomalhaut  far  to  the 
south.  His  near  associates  are  in  the  bright 
groups  which  I  have  called  the  winter  stars, 
and  they  appear  in  quick  succession  after 
him. 

From  the  time   Aldebaran   first  appears 

until  late  in  December  it  may  be  seen  in  the 

eastern   heavens  in  the   early  evening.     It 

rises  just  as  the  sun  sets  near  the  first  of 

86 


ALDEBARAN 

December  and  reaches  the  meridian  seven 
hours  later.  In  January  and  February,  it  is 
at  its  highest  point  early  in  the  evening  and 
is  then  a  little  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
way  up  to  the  zenith.  At  the  same  hours  in 
April  it  is  conspicuous  in  the  western  sky, 
and  by  the  end  of  May  it  has  disappeared. 
In  June  it  is  above  the  horizon  only  in  the 
daytime,  and  in  July  it  can  be  seen  not  long 
before  the  sun  rises. 

Aldebaran  is  the  fourteenth  star  in  order 
of  brightness  in  the  entire  heavens  and  the 
ninth  among  those  seen  in  our  latitude.  It 
is  what  is  known  as  a  standard  first  magni- 
tude star.  It  gives  to  us  about  one  ninety- 
billionth  as  much  light  as  the  sun,  but  at 
the  same  distance  as  the  sun  we  would  get 
from  it  forty-five  times  as  much  light  as  the 
sun  gives  us.  It  requires  something  more 
than  thirty-two  years  for  the  light  of  Alde- 
baran to  reach  the  earth,  which  means  that 
it  is  nearly  two  hundred  trillions  of  miles 
away.  It  is  increasing  this  distance  at  the 
rate  of  about  thirty  miles  a  second ;  but  even 
at  this  rate  it  will  require  more  than  ten 
thousand  years  to  add  another  trillion  of  miles 
to  its  distance. 

Aldebaran  lies  in  the  path  which  the  moon 

8? 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

follows  as  it  crosses  the  heavens,  and  is 
frequently  obscured  from  our  view  by  the 
moon's  passing  between  it  and  the  earth. 
Such  an  intrusion  of  the  moon  is  called  an 
occultation,  and  is  an  interesting  phenomenon 
when  the  subject  occulted  is  either  a  bright 
star  or  a  planet.  A  star,  in  such  a  case,  dis- 
appears behind  the  moon  instantly,  because 
a  star  shows  no  sensible  disk.  A  planet  dis- 
appears gradually. 

Aldebaran  has  a  companion  star,  which  can 
be  seen  with  a  good  telescope. 


XII 

ORION'S    BRIGHT   STARS 

NEXT  to  the  Great  Dipper,  Orion  is  prob- 
ably the  most  widely  known  of  all  the 
constellations.  It  contains  more  bright  stars 
than  any  other  single  group,  and  they  exact 
all  the  more  immediate  admiration  because 
they  are  clustered  so  closely  and  symmet- 
rically as  to  form  a  set  figure  of  dazzling 
jewels  —  a  veritable  " sunburst"  of  ''dia- 
monds in  the  sky." 

To  the  ancients  this  figure,  as  its  name  in- 
dicates, represented  the  giant  Orion  placed 
in  the  heavens  in  heroic  attitude  facing 
Taurus,  the  mighty  bull,  who,  with  fire  dart- 
ing from  his  eye  (marked  by  Aldebaran),  is 
about  to  make  an  onset  with  his  splendid 
long  horns.  Orion  stands  with  his  right 
arm  uplifted  and  his  great  club  in  the  air 
ready  to  strike.  Over  his  left  arm  hangs  a 
lion's  skin,  which  he  holds  up  as  a  sort  of 
89 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

shield  before  him.  With  a  little  play  of 
fancy  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  in  this  con- 
stellation a  colossal  figure,  splendidly  poised 
and  full  of  action.  Most  of  the  right  leg  is 


fc 

& 
# 


/    Q™      \       * 

/  »      \/ 
^ -^^ 


ORION 


hidden  behind  a  small  figure  in  front  of  Orion, 

so  that  the  torso  suggests  somewhat  an  un- 

90 


ORION'S    BRIGHT    STARS 

restored  piece  of  classic  sculpture ;  but  a  little 
imagination  can  complete  it  satisfactorily 
without  the  sculptor's  labor.  The  diagram 
on  the  opposite  page  shows  the  figure  as  out- 
lined by  the  stars. 

Orion  not  only  includes  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  bright  stars,  but  it  has  the  further  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  only  constellation  visible 
in  our  latitude  that  contains  as  many  as  two 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  or  highest  degree 
of  brilliancy.  These  two  stars  are  Betel- 
geuse  and  Rigel.  Betelgeuse  marks  the 
right  shoulder  of  Orion,  and  Rigel  is  in  the 
left  foot. 

The  first  of  these  to  appear  is  Betelgeuse. 
It  pushes  its  red  face  up  over  the  horizon 
about  an  hour  and  a  half  after  Aldebaran  has 
risen,  and  is  only  about  nine  degrees  farther 
south  than  Aldebaran.  It  is  of  about  the 
same  degree  of  brightness  as  Altair,  but  it  has 
not  the  same  cheerfulness  of  aspect.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  a  decided  suggestion  of 
sombreness  in  its  dull  and  comparatively 
untwinkling  face. 

The  color  of  Betelgeuse  is  deep  red  tinged 

with  orange,  a  color  that  marks  the  least 

scintillating  of  the  stars.     It  indicates  also 

that  the  star  has  passed  its  brightest  stage 

91 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

and  is  gradually  approaching  the  period  of 
darkness.  The  period  of  darkness  is  prob- 
ably preceded  in  the  life  of  a  star  by  one  of 
fluctuating  brightness,  and  it  is  apparently 
through  this  period  that  Betelgeuse  is  now 
passing,  for  it  shows  to  us  as  one  of  the  va- 
riable stars.  It  passes  irregularly  from  its 
brightest  to  its  dullest  stage  of  lucidity. 
Most  of  the  time  it  equals  in  brilliancy  Altair 
or  Aldebaran;  sometimes  it  is  no  brighter 
than  Fomalhaut  or  Deneb.  But  it  always 
remains  bright  enough  to  be  a  first  magni- 
tude star. 

About  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  after 
Betelgeuse  has  appeared  Rigel  comes  twink- 
ling into  view.  It  is  the  brightest  star  in 
Orion  and  lies  about  sixteen  degrees  south 
of  Betelgeuse.  The  celestial  equator  runs 
just  about  half-way  between  the  two  stars; 
so  that  Betelgeuse  belongs  to  the  northern 
hemisphere  and  Rigel  to  the  southern.  With 
Aldebaran,  these  two  stars  form  a  triangle, 
the  sides  being  from  sixteen  to  twenty  degrees 
in  length.  Rigel  is  exactly  south  of  Capella; 
hence,  a  line  drawn  from  Polaris  through 
Capella  and  extended  a  little  more  than 
fifty  degrees  will  end  at  Rigel. 

In  point  of  brilliancy  Rigel  ranks  next  to 
92 


ORION'S    BRIGHT    STARS 

Arcturus.  It  is  a  very  bright  white  star, 
as  dazzling  as  a  small  electric  light  and  as 
sparkling  as  a  fine  white  diamond.  But 
with  all  its  fair  beauty  Rigel  does  not  seem 
as  much  of  a  personage  in  the  assemblage  of 
stars  as  sombre  old  red-faced  Betelgeuse; 
and  in  looking  at  them  I  am  always  conscious 
of  feeling  a  somewhat  closer  friendliness  for 
Betelgeuse  than  for  Rigel.  This,  however, 
is  purely  a  personal  fancy. 

Rigel  is  so  far  away  that  astronomers 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  measure  its  dis- 
tance. Unless  some  change  takes  place  in  its 
course  or  ours,  it  will  never  be  any  nearer; 
for  the  spectroscope  shows  that  it  is  receding 
from  the  solar  system  at  the  rate  of  about 
fifteen  miles  a  second. 

As  to  distance,  almost  the  same  may  be 
said  of  Betelgeuse.  It  is  receding  from  us  a 
little  more  swiftly  than  Rigel,  the  rate  being 
about  twenty-two  miles  a  second;  and  the 
measurements  of  its  distance  are  uncertain, 
so  that  it  is  necessary  to  allow  for  a  large 
degree  of  error.  The  measurements  that  at 
present  seem  most  reliable  show  that  the 
star  is  certainly  not  nearer  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty- two  light  years.  For  the  bright- 
ness it  shows  at  that  distance  the  star  must 
7  93 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

send  abroad  at  least  five  hundred  times  as 
much  light  as  our  sun. 

Although  Rigel  rises  about  fifteen  minutes 
later  than  Betelgeuse,  it  sets  nearly  two  hours 
earlier.  This  is  because  it  is  farther  south 
than  Betelgeuse  and  has  a  shorter  path  over 
which  to  travel  from  rising  to  setting. 
Betelgeuse  is  above  the  horizon  for  some- 
thing more  than  thirteen  hours,  while  Rigel 
is  in  view  only  about  eleven. 

When  on  the  meridian,  Rigel  lacks  four 
degrees  of  being  half-way  up  to  the  zenith, 
and  Betelgeuse  lacks  only  four  degrees  of 
being  two-thirds  of  the  way  up.  The  course 
across  the  heavens  of  Betelgeuse  corre- 
sponds very  nearly  with  that  of  Altair.  The 
course  of  Rigel  is  about  the  same  as  that  of 
Spica.  Rigel  has  a  companion  star,  which  is 
a  bright  sapphire-blue  in  color.  It  is  only 
of  about  the  ninth  magnitude;  but  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  see  even  with  a  telescope,  because 
it  lies  so  very  near  the  sparkling  Rigel,  whose 
dazzling  light  obscures  the  smaller  star. 

The  other  bright  stars  of  Orion  are  hardly 
less  interesting  than  Betelgeuse  and  Rigel. 
Bellatrix,  which  marks  the  left  shoulder  of 
the  giant,  is  of  the  second  magnitude,  but 
still  a  very  brilliant  star.  Three  dazzling 
94 


ORION'S    BRIGHT    STARS 

second  magnitude  stars  form  the  belt,  or 
girdle,  of  Orion  and  lie  half-way  between 
Betelgeuse  and  Rigel.  These  are  the  stars 
supposed  to  be  referred  to  by  Job  as  "the 
bands  of  Orion."  They  lie  in  a  straight  line 
exactly  three  degrees  long,  and  are  rendered 
so  conspicuous  by  their  position  and  their 
intrinsic  beauty  that  they  are  an  aid  in 
finding  the  constellation.  They  also  serve 
as  a  measure  for  estimating  distances  in  this 
section  of  the  skies.  The  upper  one  of  them 
lies  exactly  on  the  celestial  equator,  and  is  a 
fine  double  star  discovered  by  means  of  the 
spectroscope.  They  are,  in  fact,  all  three 
double  stars  and  probably  binary  systems. 

These  three  stars  are  called  in  some  places 
the  "three  kings,"  and  the  line  formed  by 
them  is  sometimes  called  the  "ell  and  yard" 
on  account  of  its  being  just  three  degrees 
long. 

Depending  from  the  belt  is  a  curved  line 
of  stars  known  as  the  sword  of  Orion.  The 
third  one  from  the  bottom  is  distinctly  hazy 
in  appearance,  and  is  no  other  than  the 
famous  Orion  Nebula.  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  nebulse  in  the  heavens  and  is  one  of 
the  few  that  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 
The  one  star  that  we  see  in  it  resolves  through 
95 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

the  telescope  into  six  beautiful  stars  and 
forms  a  figure  that  is  sometimes  referred  to 
as  the  "Orion  trapezium." 

The  fourth  star  which  with  Betelgeuse, 
Rigel,  and  Bellatrix  forms  the  large  parallelo- 
gram that  outlines  the  constellation  is  called 
Saiph  and  is  situated  in  the  right  knee  of  the 
mighty  hunter. 

With  all  its  wonders  and  its  beauties,  it  is 
not  strange  that  Orion  should  be  one  of  the 
most  familiar  and  most  admired  of  all  the 
constellations.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  the 
galaxy  that  marches  in  brilliant  procession 
across  the  winter  skies.  We  watch  for  it 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening 
late  in  October,  and  our  first  view  is  of  the 
curved  line  of  faint  twinkling  stars  that 
outline  the  left  arm  and  the  lion's  skin.  Then 
one  jewel  after  another  emerges  from  the 
storehouse  below  the  horizon  until  the  whole 
splendid  figure  is  before  us.  Its  arrival  is  an 
announcement  that  the  out-door  season  is 
past,  that  the  nights  are  becoming  more  and 
more  frosty,  and  that  the  gorgeous  tapestry 
with  which  the  autumn  hills  seem  covered 
will  soon  fall  away  and  give  place  to  the 
lovely  low  tones  of  winter.  We  remember 
then  that  the  juncos  came  that  day  and  that 
96 


ORION'S    BRIGHT    STARS 

we  heard  them  as  we  crossed  the  coppice 
about  dusk  twittering  cheerfully  to  each 
other  as  they  settled  for  the  night  among  the 
low  bushes.  And  we  make  a  mental  note  to 
see  to-morrow  if  the  little  brown  screech  owl 
has  moved  into  his  winter  quarters  in  the 
old  catalpa-tree  across  the  road. 

During  November  and  December,  Orion 
becomes  a  familiar  figure  in  the  evening 
skies,  rising  a  little  earlier  each  evening  until 
during  the  week  on  each  side  of  New  Year's 
Day  he  appears  in  the  east  just  as  daylight 
fades.  In  February  he  stands  erect  in  the 
southern  sky  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
In  March  and  April  he  is  rushing  furiously 
down  the  western  sky  after  Taurus  and  the 
Pleiades,  and  by  the  middle  of  May  he  has 
disappeared  from  the  evening  view.  In  the 
latter  half  of  July  the  very  early  riser  can 
catch  a  glimpse  of  him  in  the  east  just  before 
daylight.  It  was,  no  doubt,  in  this  month 
that  the  "rosy-fingered  dawn"  took  him  for 
her  lover,  as  she  is  reputed  to  have  done. 


XIII 

THE    HEAVENLY   TWINS 

ON  the  old  astrological  maps  the  con- 
stellation Gemini,  or  The  Twins,  was 
represented  by  two  lusty-looking  youths 
standing  in  an  affectionate  attitude  with 
their  heads  practically  consolidated,  and 
each  wearing  a  star  as  a  sort  of  monocle  in 
the  outer  eye.  These  stars  are  called  Castor 
and  Pollux,  after  the  brothers  from  whose 
eyes  they  are  supposed  to  shine.  They  are 
the  brightest  stars  in  the  constellation 
Gemini,  which  is  outlined  by  two  almost 
parallel  rows  of  stars  beginning  at  Orion, 
running  northeast  about  twenty  degrees,  and 
ending  with  Castor  and  Pollux. 

Pollux  is  the  brighter  of  the  two  and  is  the 
only  first  magnitude  star  in  the  constella- 
tion. But  it  is  almost  as  difficult  to  con- 
sider the  two  heavenly  bodies  apart  from 
each  other  as  it  was  to  separate  the  two 
98 


THE    HEAVENLY    TWINS 

fond  brothers  for  whom  the  stars  were 
named. 

The  stars  lie  only  about  four  and  a  half 
degrees  apart  and  are  so  conspicuously  a 
pair  that  each  serves  as  an  identifying  mark 
for  the  other.  Moreover,  Castor  has  not 
always  been  the  inferior  star  in  point  of 
brilliancy.  Three  hundred  years  ago  he  was 
brighter  than  Pollux,  and  though  in  the 
course  of  the  centuries  he  has  been  out- 
stripped in  brilliancy  by  his  brother,  he  has 
still  some  points  of  superior  interest,  as 
will  be  seen  later  on,  and  is  entitled  to  be 
considered  with  respect  and  admiration  in 
the  gay  company  of  our  friends  among  the 
stars. 

Castor  and  Pollux  enter  at  the  eastern 
gate  of  the  skies  at  about  the  same  time 
that  Betelgeuse  and  Rigel  appear,  but  the 
Twins  are  so  much  farther  north  that  there 
is  no  danger  of  confusing  them  with  the  two 
brilliant  stars  of  Orion. 

Betelgeuse  and  Castor  come  into  view  at 
almost  the  same  moment,  the  former  only 
about  seven  and  the  latter  a  little  more  than 
thirty-two  degrees  north  of  the  exact  east. 
About  ten  or  twelve  minutes  later  Rigel  ap- 
pears at  a  point  a  little  more  than  eight  de- 
99 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

grees  south  of  east,  and  after  an  interval  of 
from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes,  Pollux  shines  out 
above  the  horizon  about  thirty-seven  degrees 
farther  north. 

In  November,  when  the  twin  stars  first 
become  a  prominent  feature  of  the  early 
evening  sky,  Castor  is  leading.  When  they 
come  to  the  meridian,  about  eight  hours  later, 
Pollux,  being  farther  south  and  thus  having 
a  shorter  course  to  run,  has  so  gained  on  his 
companion  that  he  reaches  the  meridian  only 
about  ten  minutes  later.  At  this  point, 
which  is  their  highest,  Castor  is  nine-tenths 
and  Pollux  is  about  seven-eighths  of  the  way 
up  from  the  horizon  to  the  zenith. 

As  they  descend  the  western  sky  Pollux 
makes  a  still  further  gain,  and  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  course  they  are  seen  side  by  side. 
They  are  particularly  attractive  during  all  of 
May  and  the  first  half  of  June,  when  they 
hang  during  the  evening  in  the  north- 
western heavens  shining  out  gently  and 
kindly  from  the  glowing  background  that 
the  sun  has  left  behind  it. 

Castor  and  Pollux  were  supposed  by  the 
ancients  to  have  a  favorable  influence  over 
navigation,  and  the  figureheads  of  ships 
often  represented  them.  The  Apostle  Paul, 

IOO 


THE    HEAVENLY  .TWINS 


when  shipwrecked  on  the  island  of  Meiita, 
sailed  from  it  "in  a  ship  of  Alexandria  .  .  . 
whose  sign  was  Castor  and  Pollux,"  and,  of 
course,  had  a  prosperous  voyage  to  his 
friends  in  Rome. 

The  constellation  Gemini  is  the  third 
spring  sign  of  the  zodiac,  and  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  the  mere  beauty  of  its  chief  stars,  Castor 
and  Pollux,  may  have  fastened  upon  it  the 
reputation  of  responsibility  for  the  beautiful 
weather  that  comes  early  in  June.  At  this 
season  of  the  year  position,  atmosphere,  and 
surroundings  all  combine  to  enhance  the 
beauty  and  accentuate  the  individuality  of 
these  two  beautiful  stars.  All,  save  one,  of 
the  radiant  stars  that  have  absorbed  atten- 
tion in  this  region  of  the  sky  during  the 
winter  and  early  spring  have  disappeared. 
The  rainy  Hyades,  including  Aldebaran, 
were  the  first  to  go.  Stormy  Orion  followed 
soon  after,  and  the  ill-omened  Dog  Star  went 
with  him.  And  now  in  a  comparatively 
starless  environment  the  twin  stars,  beloved 
of  sailors,  dominate  the  western  sky  and 
shine  side  by  side  like  two  eyes  benignly  set 
to  keep  a  protecting  watch  upon  the  world. 
It  is  not  the  sailor  alone  whose  fancy  is 
pleased  with  the  kindly  vigil  they  seem  to 
101 


;  TH'E    FRIENDLY    STARS 


keep.  A  landsman,  too,  may  have  pleasanter 
dreams  if  he  will  but  take  a  peep  through  the 
western  window  and  exchange  friendly 
glances  with  them  before  settling  down  for 
the  night. 

Inasmuch  as  Castor  and  Pollux  are  so 
closely  associated  in  our  minds,  in  their 
times  and  seasons  and  their  apparent  position 
in  the  sky,  it  may  be  something  of  a  shock  to 
learn  that  they  are  in  reality  quite  inde- 
pendent of  each  other  and  that  they  are  going 
each  his  own  way,  in  entirely  different 
directions,  towards  an  entirely  different 
goal.  To  our  view  they  are  only  four  and  a 
half  degrees  apart.  But,  in  reality,  one  lies 
considerably  more  than  two  hundred  trillions 
of  miles  farther  from  us  than  the  other. 
Castor  is  the  nearer  of  the  two  and  is  not  a 
very  far  distant  star  as  stellar  distances  go. 
Its  light  comes  to  us  in  a  little  more  than 
sixteen  years,  and  it  is  only  about  one 
million  times  farther  from  us  than  the  sun. 
It  requires  more  than  fifty-four  years  for  the 
light  of  Pollux  to  reach  us,  and  the  star  is 
more  than  three  million  times  as  far  from  us 
as  the  sun. 

Pollux,  however,  is  approaching  us  at  the 
rate  of  about  twenty-five  miles  a  second,  and 

102 


THE    HEAVENLY    TWINS 

Castor  is  retreating  from  us  at  about  the 
same  rate.  If  indeed  they  are  travelling  in 
exactly  opposite  directions,  it  is  not  im- 
possible to  conceive  that  in  some  far  distant 
age  they  may  come  within  reasonable  dis- 
tance of  each  other.  If  they  do,  and  if  the 
people  of  the  earth  are  here  to  see  it,  they 
will  behold  a  mighty  sun  in  Pollux  and  a 
telescopic  star  in  Castor.  But  it  would  re- 
quire considerably  more  than  one  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  years  to  accomplish  this 
change,  and  the  stars  would  then  be  about 
two  hundred  and  seven  trillions  of  miles 
from  us — a  distance  over  which  it  would  take 
light  thirty-five  years  to  travel. 

Castor  and  Pollux  are  not  only  thus  widely 
separated,  but  they  are  at  different  stages 
of  development.  Pollux  is  yellow  in  color 
and  is  the  same  type  of  star  as  the  sun  and 
Capella — the  class  known  as  solar  stars. 
Castor  belongs  to  that  large  class  of  stars 
that  includes  Vega,  Spica,  Deneb,  and  about 
half  of  all  the  stars  in  the  sky.  They  are 
usually  white,  but  are  sometimes  tinged 
with  color,  as  in  the  case  of  Vega,  which  is 
tinged  with  blue,  and  of  Castor,  whose  tint 
is  green. 

Though  the  bond  between  Castor  and 
103 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Pollux  is  more  apparent  than  real,  Castor, 
at  least,  has  a  true  companion.  The  com- 
panion is  but  a  fraction  more  than  one 
magnitude  less  bright  than  Castor  itself  and 
is  greenish  -  yellow  in  color.  It  is  bright 
enough  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  but 
we  cannot  separate  the  two  stars  without  the 
aid  of  a  small  telescope  because  they  lie  so 
close  together.  The  distance  between  them 
is  only  about  four  seconds,  or  one  nine-hun- 
dredth of  a  degree. 

The  two  stars  revolve  about  each  other 
very  slowly,  and  though  they  were  found  to 
compose  a  double  system  of  stars  nearly 
two  hundred  years  ago,  they  have  not  yet 
completed  one  full  revolution,  and  their 
period  is  not  exactly  known.  It  is  estimated, 
however,  that  it  will  require  probably  a 
thousand  years  for  them  to  describe  one 
revolution. 

The  smaller  of  the  two  principal  stars 
composing  Castor  has  recently  been  dis- 
covered to  have  a  satellite  of  its  own.  A 
dark  star  revolves  about  it  with  a  speed  so 
different  from  that  of  the  two  larger  stars 
that  it  completes  one  circuit  of  its  orbit  in 
less  than  three  days.  In  addition  to  these 
three  stars,  there  is  another  small  star  near 
104 


THE    HEAVENLY    TWINS 

them  that  is  believed  to  form  a  part  of  the 
system.  Castor,  therefore,  as  we  see  it,  is 
certainly  composed  of  three  and  probably 
of  four  stars. 

To  swear  by  Castor  and  Pollux  was  com- 
mon practice  in  ancient  times,  and  later  the 
name  of  the  constellation  itself  came  to  be 
used  in  the  same  way.  In  Elizabethan 
literature  we  not  infrequently  find  the  ex- 
pression "  Oh,  Gemini!"  which  by  the  modern 
rustic  is  corrupted  into  a  slightly  different 
word  and  gives  him  the  expletive  "By 
Jimmy!" 


XIV 

THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

A  STRAIGHT  line  from  Aldebaran  run- 
/v  ning  through  the  belt  of  Orion  and  ex- 
tending beyond  it  towards  the  southeast 
about  twenty  degrees  will  point  out  the  Great 
Dog  Star,  Sirius,  by  far  the  brightest  star  in 
the  heavens,  and,  happily,  so  situated  that  it 
can  be  seen  in  all  southern  latitudes  and  in 
all  northern  latitudes  south  of  Greenland. 
Next  to  Polaris  it  is,  perhaps,  the  best  known 
of  any  individual  star,  and  this  in  spite  of  its 
not  being  visible  in  the  latitude  of  the 
United  States  before  midnight  during  the 
months  when  people  are  most  out-of-doors 
and  most  likely  to  observe  it — from  May  to 
November. 

Sirius  is  called  the  Dog  Star  because  it  is 

the   chief   star  in  the   constellation  of  the 

Great  Dog,  which  follows   at  the  heels  of 

Orion  in  his  journey  across  the  skies.     The 

106 


THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

constellation  gives  the  name  of  " dog-days" 
to  the  hot  and  trying  period  of  the  summer, 
including  most  of  July  and  the  first  half  of 
August.  During  this  time  Sirius  rises  just 
after  the  sun,  and  following  it  over  the 
heavens  each  day,  the  star  was  supposed  by 
the  ancients  to  be  in  some  way  responsible 
for  the  malign  heat  of  the  midsummer  sun 
and  to  exert  an  evil  influence  on  the  health 
of  those  exposed  to  its  burning  rays.  Even 
now  we  frequently  hear  that  dogs  are  likely 
to  "go  mad"  at  this  season  because  "the 
Dog  Star  is  in  the  ascendant." 

From  Homer  down  to  the  present  day  few 
great  poets  whose  themes  were  of  out-door 
things  have  failed  to  refer  to  Sirius.  A 
beautifully  compact  and  comprehensive  de- 
scription of  the  star  and  its  characteristics 
is  given  incidentally  in  the  Iliad,  where 
Achilles,  mad  with  rage,  was  first  seen  by 
Priam  "as  he  sped  across  the  plain,  blazing 
as  the  star  that  cometh  forth  at  harvest- 
time,  and  plain  seen  his  ways  shine  forth 
amid  the  host  of  stars  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  the  star  whose  name  men  call  Orion's 
dog.  Brightest  of  all  is  he,  yet  for  an  evil 
sign  is  he  set,  and  bringeth  much  fever  upon 
hapless  men." 

107 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Sirius  is  the  farthest  south  of  any  of  the 
bright  stars  of  winter  that  can  be  seen  in  this 
latitude,  and  in  the  sweep  over  its  com- 
paratively small  arc  in  our  skies  it  rises  only 
about  fourteen  degrees  higher  than  Fomal- 
haut,  the  most  southern  of  the  important 
autumn  stars,  and  ten  degrees  higher  than 
An  tares,  the  most  southerly  first  magnitude 
star  of  summer.  When  Sirius  is  on  the  me- 
ridian, or  at  the  highest  point  in  its  diurnal 
course  from  rising  to  setting,  it  is  only  about 
one- third  of  the  way  up  to  the  zenith.  It 
reaches  this  point  about  five  hours  after 
rising,  and,  hence,  is  above  the  horizon  only 
ten  hours  out  of  each  twenty-four. 

We  begin  to  look  for  Sirius  in  the  evening 
sky  about  the  middle  of  November,  at  which 
time  it  rises  about  ten  o'clock.  The  real 
activity  of  the  year  is  over.  No  flowers  are 
in  bloom  save  that  here  and  there  in  some 
sheltered,  sunny  spot  in  the  coppice  a  belated 
aster  is  cheerfully  swinging  its  bright  blue- 
starred  branches,  or  some  other  flower  whose 
season  is  long  past  has  been  enticed  by  the 
warm  sunshine  into  showing  yet  one  more 
blossom.  To  be  sure,  the  witch-hazel,  the 
very  last  flower  of  the  year,  which  thriftily 
puts  forth  in  the  late  autumn  the  bloom  for 
1 08 


THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

next  year's  fruit,  hangs  full  of  the  curious, 
straggling  golden  threads  which  constitute 
its  flowers;  but  it  stands  bare  of  leaves  and 
its  empty  seed-cups  are  open-mouthed  as  if 
with  wonder  and  admiration  at  the  success 
of  the  explosions  by  means  of  which  it  has 
lately  peppered  the  neighborhood  with  its 
fruit.  The  heavy  frosts  have  finished  the 
work  of  painting  the  hills;  the  rich  brown 
leaves  are  fast  piling  their  soft  winter  cover- 
ing over  the  yet  warm  earth;  the  smooth 
clean  j  uncos  have  been  flirting  around  in 
merry  groups  for  three  or  four  weeks,  and 
the  lovely  Indian  summer  haze  hangs  like 
a  soft  mantle  of  gauze  between  us  and  the 
half -denuded  trees. 

In  the  skies  all  the  others  of  the  bright 
winter  stars  have  arrived,  and  some  of  the 
brightest  of  the  spring  and  summer  stars 
still  linger  to  grace  the  company,  when  the 
king  of  stars  arrives.  No  less  than  ten  of  our 
fifteen  brightest  stars  are  in  view  when  the 
dazzling  face  of  Sirius  appears.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  heavens  are  golden 
Capella,  rose-tinted  Aldebaran,  red-faced 
Betelgeuse,  fair  Rigel,  the  gentle  Pollux, 
and  Procyon,  the  smaller  Dog  Star,  all  fresh 
and  joyous  and  eager.  In  the  southwest  is 

8  IOQ 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Fomalhaut,  serene  and  indifferent  to  what 
is  about  to  transpire.  In  the  west  is  Altair, 
just  waiting  above  the  horizon  to  witness  the 
event  and  then  drop  out  of  sight.  In  the 
northeast  are  Vega  and  Deneb,  bright  and 
gay  and  twinkling  with  almost  as  many  hues 
as  Sirius  himself. 

He  comes  richly  dight  in  many  colors, 
twinkling  fast  and  changing  with  each  motion 
from  tints  of  ruby  to  sapphire  and  emerald 
and  amethyst.  As  he  rises  higher  and  high- 
er in  the  sky  he  gains  composure  and  his 
beams  now  sparkle  like  the  most  brilliant 
diamond — not  a  pure  white,  but  slightly 
tinged  with  iridescence.  It  is  worth  en- 
during the  chilliness  of  a  clear,  mid-Novem- 
ber night  at  ten  o'clock  to  see  the  assemblage 
of  these  eleven  noble  stars  with  their  at- 
tendants. For  mere  brilliancy  it  is  sur- 
passed at  no  other  season  of  the  year. 

The  color  of  Sirius  has  been  the  subject 
of  much  research  by  certain  astronomers. 
While  it  is  now  in  the  main  white,  some 
references  made  to  it  in  ancient  literature 
indicate  that  eighteen  hundred  or  two  thou- 
sand years  ago  it  was  red;  and,  as  a  result  of 
learned  inquiry,  this  is  stoutly  maintained 
by  some  astronomers  to  be  true.  But  in- 

IIO 


THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

quiry  on  the  other  side,  perhaps  equally  care- 
ful, shows  that  it  could  not  have  been  red  at 
that  time,  and  that  any  word  so  characteriz- 
ing it  probably  meant  only  " fiery,"  " blaz- 
ing," or  something  of  that  sort.  On  the 
whole,  there  seems  to  be  no  sufficient  reason 
for  believing  that  it  has  been  red  and  has 
changed  color  within  any  measurably  limited 
period,  though  it  may  be  so.  Some  persons 
maintain  that  it  is  even  now  changing  color 
and  becoming  red  as  it  was  claimed  to  be  in 
former  times.  The  changes  in  hue  when 
near  the  horizon  are  due  to  its  brilliancy  and 
the  special  effect  of  the  atmosphere  on  such 
extreme  brightness. 

On  Thanksgiving  evening,  which  so  often 
marks  the  first  cold  "snap"  of  the  season, 
Sirius  rises  about  nine  o'clock.  On  Christ- 
mas evening  it  becomes  visible  a  little  after 
seven,  and  on  New  Year's  about  half  an 
hour  earlier.  About  the  twenty  -  eighth  of 
January  it  rises  just  as  the  sun  sets,  not  far 
from  five  o'clock. 

Being  so  low  in  the  sky,  it  is  easily  ob- 
served at  any  point  in  its  course.  Except 
for  the  first  thrill  of  pleasure  that  it  gives 
when  it  appears  in  the  late  autumn,  Sirius  is 
never  more  attractive  than  during  March 
in 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

and  April.  It  is  then  at  its  highest  dur- 
ing the  early  evening  and  shines  brilliantly 
in  the  southwest.  It  sets  with  the  sun 
about  the  twentieth  of  May,  and  for  some 
days  before  that  it  has  been  invisible,  its 
light  being  lost  in  the  rays  of  our  own  great 
orb. 

As  to  development,  Sirius  is  in  the  same 
class  of  stars  as  Vega,  Spica,  Deneb,  and 
more  than  half  of  all  the  stars,  being  in  al- 
most the  earliest  and  most  gaseous  stage  of 
existence  as  a  star.  It  is  a  typical  star  of  its 
kind,  and  the  class  is  named  for  it.  All  such 
stars  are  said  to  be  Sirian  stars. 

Sirius  is  one  of  the  stars  that  we  know  to 
be  comparatively  near  to  us.  There  are  only 
four  others  that  are  known  to  be  nearer. 
Light  travels  from  it  to  us  in  about  eight 
years  and  a  half,  which  means  that  it  is  about 
fifty-one  trillions  of  miles  distant,  or  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  times  farther 
away  than  the  sun.  We  get  from  the  star 
only  one  seven-billionth  of  the  light  that  the 
sun  gives  us;  but  Sirius  in  reality  gives  out 
about  forty  times  as  much  light  as  the  sun. 
It  is  a  very  gaseous  and  expanded  body, 
however,  and  though  very  much  larger  and 
more  brilliant  than  the  sun,  is  comparatively 

112 


THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

light  in  weight,  its  mass  exceeding  that  of 
the  sun  only  about  three  times. 

Sirius  has  a  very  interesting  companion, 
which  revolves  around  it  in  something  more 
than  fifty  years.  Its  orbit  is  such  that  the 
two  stars  are  nearer  together  at  one  time  than 
at  another,  and  it  is  only  when  they  are 
farthest  apart  that  the  companion  can  be 
seen,  and  even  then  a  strong  telescope  is 
necessary.  When  at  their  nearest,  the  com- 
panion is  so  completely  lost  in  the  brilliant 
light  of  Sirius  that  it  cannot  be  found  at  all. 
The  existence  of  such  a  companion  had  been 
long  suspected,  but  it  was  not  actually  dis- 
covered until  1862,  a  year  when  the  distance 
between  the  stars  was  increasing.  Since 
then  they  have  had  a  period  of  being  too  near 
to  each  other  to  be  separated;  but  they  are 
now  getting  farther  apart,  and  about  1916 
will  be  at  their  greatest  distance  from  each 
other.  The  companion  is  a  dull  yellow  in 
color,  is  heavy  in  proportion  to  its  brilliancy, 
and  is  probably  approaching  the  stage  where- 
in its  light  will  be  practically  extinguished. 
Sirius  now  gives  about  ten  thousand  times  as 
much  light  as  its  companion. 

The  other  Dog  Star,  Procyon,  lies  in  the 
constellation  of  the  Little  Dog  (Canis  Minor) . 


TH.E    FRIENDLY    STARS 

It  may  be  found  by  running  a  line  a  little 
more  than  twenty  degrees  northeast  from 
Sirius,  or  about  the  same  number  of  degrees 
east  from  Betelgeuse.  Procyon,  Sirius,  and 
Betelgeuse  are  at  the  angles  of  an  almost 
equal -sided  triangle,  and  the  same  three 
stars  form  with  Rigel  a  figure  which  is  almost 
a  square.  Procyon  is  twenty-three  degrees 
directly  south  of  Pollux  and  forms  a  triangle 
on  the  north  with  Pollux  and  Betelgeuse  of 
just  about  the  same  size  as  the  triangle  it 
forms  with  Betelgeuse  and  Sirius  on  the 
south.  It  rises  an  hour  and  a  half  later,  and 
sets  an  hour  and  a  half  earlier,  than  Pollux. 

The  name  Procyon  means  "  before  the  dog, " 
and  the  star  was  given  the  name  because  it 
appears  in  the  east  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
minutes  before  the  Great  Dog  Star.  It  rises 
very  little  north  of  the  exact  east,  reaches 
the  meridian  about  six  hours  and  twenty 
minutes  later,  and  sets  between  two  and 
three  hours  after  Sirius.  At  its  highest  point 
it  reaches  about  three-fifths  of  the  way  up 
to  the  zenith. 

Procyon  suffers  somewhat  in  reputation  by 

reason  of  its  connection  with  Sirius.   The  fact 

that  it  is  known  as  "  the  other  Dog  Star  "  and 

"the  Little  Dog  Star"  indicates  inferiority 

114 


THE    TWO    DOG    STARS 

of  some  sort.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  most  beautiful 
star,  and  is  only  the  sixth  in  order  of  bright- 
ness among  the  stars  seen  in  our  latitude. 
It  is  very  distinctly  individual,  being  the  only 
one  among  the  beautiful  group  of  winter 
stars  that  is  lightly  tinged  with  yellow. 
It  is  one  of  the  Sirian  class  of  stars,  but 
is  somewhat  farther  developed  than  Sirius 
and  is  beginning  to  have  the  golden  tint 
which  signifies  that  it  is  approaching  the 
time  of  life  into  which  Capella  and  the  sun 
are  well  passed.  Occupying  this  half-way 
place,  it  is  sometimes  called  a  Sirian-solar 
star. 

Procyon  is  also  one  of  the  near-by  stars, 
but  it  is  not  so  near  as  Sirius.  Light  travels 
from  it  to  us  in  a  little  more  than  ten  years ; 
so  that  the  star  is  not  more  than  sixty-five 
trillions  of  miles  away  from  us.  It  gives  out 
at  least  eight  times  as  much  light  as  the  sun, 
and  is  in  no  sense  an  insignificant  body  or  one 
to  be  known  only  as  a  companion  star  to 
Sirius. 

Procyon  also  has  a  companion  of  its  own, 
a  yellow  star  of  about  the  twelfth  magnitude, 
which  revolves  around  it  in  about  forty 
years.  It  has  some  points  of  resemblance 
to  the  companion  of  Sirius:  it  gives  com- 
"5 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

paratively  little  light  in  proportion  to  its 
mass,  it  can  be  seen  better  at  one  place  in  its 
orbit  than  another,  and  the  length  of  the 
period  in  which  it  revolves  around  its  primary 
is  not  very  different.  The  companion  of 
Procyon  was  not  discovered  until  1896. 


XV 

REGULUS 

HPHERE  is  no  single  line  by  which  Regulus 
1  can  be  exactly  pointed  out  to  one  who 
does  not  know  the  constellations.  Still  it  can 
be  easily  found.  A  line  forty  degrees  long 
drawn  through  the  pointers  backward — that 
is,  away  from  the  North  Star — will  end  just 
a  little  to  the  west  of  a  conspicuous  group 
of  stars  known  as  the  Sickle  (and  really  re- 
sembling that  instrument),  and  Regulus  is 
the  brilliant  which  sparkles  at  the  end  of  the 
handle. 

In  June  and  July,  when  Antares  and  Spica 
are  both  shining,  Regulus  may  be  found  by  a 
line  drawn  from  Antares  through  Spica  and 
extended  about  fifty  degrees.  The  line  will 
unmistakably  indicate  Regulus,  but  the  star 
will  be  well  down  in  the  west  and  not  far 
from  setting.  When  Arcturus  is  visible  and 
not  too  far  down  in  the  west,  Regulus  may 
117 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

be  found  at  a  point  about  sixty  degrees  west 
(a  very  little  north  of  west)  of  Arcturus.  A 
triangle  is  formed  by  Spica,  Arcturus,  and 


fte&utus 


f 

/ 


THE    SICKLE 


Regulus,  with  Regulus  at  the  acute  angle 
pointing  towards  the  west. 

Among  the  brightest  stars,  Regulus  comes 
and  goes  rather  between  seasons.  It  is  not 
strictly  a  summer  or  a  winter  star,  though 
it  may  be  seen  in  both  seasons.  It  is,  in  fact, 
visible  at  some  time  between  sunset  and 
midnight  for  eight  months  in  the  year.  It 
comes  after  the  galaxy  of  brilliant  winter 
stars  are  in  full  swing  across  the  heavens  and 
before  the  gay  company  that  gladdens  our 
view  in  the  spring  has  begun  to  assemble. 
118 


REGULUS 

It  appears  above  the  horizon  a  very  little 
north  of  east  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing of  New  Year's  Day.  One  may  even  have 
seen  it  a  little  later  in  the  evening  than  this 
some  days  before  Christmas;  but  Regulus 
has  not  that  insistent  quality  of  brightness 
which  is  largely  the  result  of  size,  and  it 
does  not  command  the  regard  of  the  ordinary 
observer  until  it  has  reached  a  position  and 
an  hour  when  one  can  observe  it  conveniently. 
From  the  time  it  first  attracts  our  attention 
until  Arcturus  and  Vega  come,  Regulus  is 
the  chief  ornament  of  the  eastern  skies  and 
shines  like  a  veritable  diamond  of  the  highest 
quality,  fit  to  be  set  in  the  jewelled  hilt  of 
sword  or  scimeter  of  fine  Damascus  steel 
rather  than  the  handle  of  a  homely  garden 
implement.  It  is  a  singularly  clear,  white, 
sparkling  star ;  but  in  spite  of  its  brilliancy  it 
seems  a  much  smaller  point  of  light  than 
many  of  the  bright  stars.  It  is  next  below 
Deneb  in  its  rank  among  the  stars  as  to 
brightness,  and  the  two  stars  are  so  nearly 
equal  that  some  astronomers  give  Regulus 
the  higher  place.  In  the  Harvard  Photome- 
try it  ranks  fifteenth  in  order  of  brightness 
among  the  stars  visible  to  us,  and  twentieth 
among  all  the  first  magnitude  stars. 
119 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

It  requires  about  six  hours  and  three- 
quarters  for  Regulus  to  reach  the  meridian, 
and  it  is  then  about  one  degree  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  way  up  to  the  zenith,  or 
the  point  exactly  over  our  heads.  It  shines 
all  night  in  January,  February,  March,  and 
April,  rising  in  February  just  as  the  sun  sets. 
In  May,  June,  and  July  it  may  be  seen 
travelling  towards  the  western  horizon  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  night.  By  August 
it  is  so  near  the  sun  that  even  with  a  favoring 
atmosphere  we  can  barely  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  star  during  the  first  few  days  of  the 
month,  as  it  falls  below  the  horizon  close 
after  the  sun;  and  it  remains  in  this  region 
most  of  September.  In  the  early  morning 
hours  of  October  and  November  it  may  be 
seen  gradually  gaining  on  the  hours  until  it 
comes  back  to  its  familiar  place  in  the  east. 

In  point  of  development  Regulus  belongs 
in  the  class  of  stars  of  which  Vega,  Deneb, 
Spica,  and  Sirius  are  conspicuous  examples: 
very  tenuous,  perhaps  gaseous,  bodies,  shin- 
ing with  dazzling  brilliancy,  and  giving  off 
more  light  in  proportion  to  mass  than  stars 
of  a  darker  hue. 

Regulus  is,  however,  one  of  the  very  large 
suns  of  the  universe.  It  sends  out  a  thou- 

I2O 


REGULUS 

sand  times  as  much  light  as  our  sun,  and  its 
distance  from  the  solar  system  is  so  great 
that  we  do  not  receive  the  light  from  the  star 
for  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  years 
after  it  has  started  towards  us,  moving 
though  it  does  at  the  rate  of  six  trillions  of 
miles  a  year.  This  tremendous  distance  is 
constantly  increasing,  though  the  rate  of  in- 
crease is  comparatively  small;  for  Regulus  is 
receding  from  us  at  the  rate  of  about  fifteen 
miles  a  second,  which  means  that  the  dis- 
tance between  us  and  the  star  is  increased 
each  year  by  nearly  five  hundred  millions  of 
miles. 

Regulus  is  in  the  constellation  called  Leo, 
or  the  Lion.  The  blade  of  the  Sickle  marks 
the  shoulder  of  the  Lion,  and  Regulus  lies 
at  its  heart.  The  star  is  sometimes  called 
''Cor  Leonis,"  meaning  "the  Heart  of  the 
Lion."  The  name  Regulus  means  "chief." 

The  constellation  Leo  is  one  of  those 
through  which  the  sun  passes  in  its  apparent 
annual  path  across  the  heavens.  It  is  in 
this  constellation  a  little  more  than  five 
weeks,  entering  it  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  week  in  August.  Two  weeks  later 
the  sun  passes  Regulus,  and  as  the  star  lies 
almost  exactly  in  the  path  of  the  sun,  they 

121 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

would  seem  to  an  observer  on  the  earth  to 
almost  touch  each  other.  But  at  this  time 
the  light  of  Regulus  is  lost  in  the  sun's  rays, 
and  we  do  not  see  this  interesting  meeting. 

Another  interesting  star  in  Leo,  though 
not  of  the  first  magnitude,  is  Denebola.  It 
marks  the  tuft  at  the  end  of  the  Lion's  tail, 
and  its  name  means  "the  Tail  of  the  Lion." 
It  lies  about  twenty-five  degrees  east  of 
Regulus  and  a  very  little  to  the  north  of  it. 
It  is  the  brightest  star  in  a  small  triangle 
which  a  glance  towards  the  region  indicated 
will  reveal. 

Within  the  curve  of  the  blade  of  the  Sickle 
is  the  point  from  which  the  meteors  that  come 
along  in  the  middle  of  November  seem  to 
radiate.  They  are  on  this  account  called 
"Leonids." 


XVI 

THE   NUMBER    OF    THE   STARS 

ON  a  clear  starlit  night  the  sky  seems 
so  thickly  set  with  stars  that,  on  first 
view,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  within 
two  hours  one  could  count  every  one  of  them. 
Yet  this  is  true,  for  to  the  ordinary  eye  there 
are  not  more  than  a  thousand  stars  visible 
at  one  time.  The  very  keenest  eye  without 
mechanical  assistance  cannot  discern  in  the 
heavens,  north  and  south,  more  than  seven 
thousand,  and  barely  five  thousand  are  visible 
to  the  ordinary  sight.  Of  this  entire  number 
nearly  one-fourth  are  too  far  south  to  be  seen 
at  all  in  our  latitude;  and  of  those  that  can 
be  seen  here  only  one-half  are  visible  at  once, 
the  others  being  below  the  horizon  and  visible 
only  in  the  other  hemisphere.  And,  finally, 
of  those  that  are  really  above  the  horizon 
and  could  otherwise  be  seen,  the  bright  stars 
are  somewhat  obscured  by  the  dense  at- 
123 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

mosphere  while  near  the  horizon,  and  the 
faint  ones  are  completely  blotted  out  for 
a  considerable  distance  farther  up.  This 
is  why  there  seem  to  be  no  faint  stars  low 
down  in  the  sky.  In  reality  they  very 
largely  outnumber  the  bright  ones  in  every 
part  of  the  heavens,  but  they  can  only  be 
seen  when  they  rise  high  enough  to  escape 
the  heavy  lower  atmosphere. 

The  stars  that  we  can  see  with  the  naked 
eye  (astronomers  call  them  lucid  stars)  are, 
of  course,  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  total 
number  of  stars  in  the  universe.  As  to 
what  the  total  number  is,  astronomers  do 
not  agree ;  but  it  is  generally  believed  among 
them  that  there  must  be  at  least  hundreds 
of  millions.  The  largest  telescope  shows 
nearly  a  hundred  million.  Some  contend 
that  the  number  is  infinite.  The  fact  that 
the  authorities  are  not  in  accord  shows 
that  no  one  is  yet  able  to  say  absolute- 
ly what  the  extent  of  the  universe,  and 
hence  the  number  of  the  stars,  is.  The  point 
of  main  interest  is  that  the  number  is  proba- 
bly not  infinite.  That  it  cannot  be  definitely 
stated  is  not  so  important.  When  the  number 
is  so  vast,  a  few  hundred  millions  more  or  less 
add  no  deeper  meaning  to  the  general  fact. 
124 


THE    NUMBER    OF    THE   STARS 

The  difference  of  opinion  among  astrono- 
mers as  to  the  limitation  of  the  stars  is  based 
in  part  upon  their  ideas  of  the  destructibility 
of  light.  It  is  certain  that  we  do  not  get  an 
infinite  amount  of  starlight.  If  we  did,  all 
space,  they  say,  would  be  filled  with  a  dif- 
fused glow  and  there  would  be  no  such  thing 
as  darkness.  For  it  is  not  necessary  that 
we  should  actually  see  the  stars  in  order  to 
have  light  from  them.  Those  that  we  can 
see  with  the  naked  eye  give  only  about 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  total  starlight  re- 
ceived by  us.  The  naked-eye  and  the  tele- 
scopic stars  combined  give  only  about  one 
one  -  hundred  -  and  -  eightieth  as  much  light 
as  the  full  moon.  But  on  a  bright  star- 
light night  the  light  we  receive  is  equal  to 
about  one-sixtieth  of  full  moonlight,  which 
shows  that  we  get  three  times  as  much 
light  from  the  stars  whose  rays  are  too 
faint  to  be  seen  as  from  all  the  other  stars 
together. 

It  has  been  shown  by  photography  that  we 
get  light  from  stars  that  even  the  largest 
telescope  has  not  discovered.  The  photo- 
graphic plate  is  so  sensitive  that,  if  it  is  ex- 
posed to  their  rays  long  enough,  it  will  re- 
cord the  existence  of  the  faint  and  far-off 
125 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

stars  that  eye  and  telescope  combined  have 
no  power  to  discover.  But  these  stars  must 
be  giving  us  light,  for  they  would  make  no 
impression  on  the  photographic  plate  if 
their  light  did  not  reach  it. 

If  there  is  anything  in  far-off  space  that  so 
dissipates  light  that  it  becomes  lost  (and 
some  authorities  think  that  this  may  be  so) , 
then  the  number  of  the  stars  may  be  infinite. 
But  we  can  perhaps  never  know  it  to  be 
infinite;  and  practically  we  need  not  take 
much  account  of  the  question.  It  is  almost 
so,  too,  with  regard  to  certain  bodies  in  space 
which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  we  speak 
of  as  dark  stars:  that  is,  stars  that  give  no 
light.  We  know  that  there  are  such  bodies, 
and  it  has  even  been  suggested  by  some 
astronomers  that  they  probably  outnumber 
the  stars  whose  light  we  see.  But  we  do  not 
take  them  into  account  in  numbering  the 
stars,  for  they  are  known  to  us  only  by  their 
influence  on  other  bodies  through  the  laws 
of  gravitation  and  of  light.  They  make 
themselves  known  in  some  instances  by 
passing  at  regular  intervals  between  us  and  a 
bright  star,  thus  showing  that  they  are  re- 
volving around  it ;  and  sometimes  by  making 
the  star  swerve  from  what  its  course  would 
126 


THE   NUMBER    OF    THE    STARS 

naturally  be,  thus  showing  that  some  unseen 
body  is  influencing  it.  As  we  know  more  of 
the  stars  in  general  we  may  come  to  know 
more  of  those  that  do  not  shine.  They  may 
even  become  sufficiently  known  to  be  classi- 
fied and  numbered.  But  at  present  they 
need  not  be  taken  into  account. 

The  telescope  and  camera  both  give  evi- 
dence of  a  limit  at  least  to  the  number  of  the 
stars  that  we  can  really  know.  As  tele- 
scopes were  made  larger  and  larger  a  greater 
number  of  stars  became  visible ;  and  it  seemed 
as  if  the  number  we  could  see  depended  sole- 
ly upon  the  power  of  the  glass.  It  has  been 
found,  however,  that  beyond  a  certain  point 
the  number  we  can  see  does  not  increase  in 
proportion  to  the  increased  size  of  the 
telescope.  This  indicates  that  we  must  be 
approaching  the  limit  of  the  number  of  stars 
that  send  their  light  to  us.  The  same  thing 
is  shown  by  the  camera.  After  a  certain 
length  of  exposure  no  additional  time  will  add 
more  than  a  few  stars  to  the  number  already 
on  the  plate. 

There    are    about    twenty    well    marked 

degrees  of  brightness  in  the  stars  seen  through 

the  largest  telescopes.     For  the  first  ten  or 

twelve  of  these  the  number  of  stars  in  each 

127 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

grade  is  about  three  times  greater  than  in 
the  grade  preceding  it  in  order  of  brightness. 
That  is,  we  have  of  the  first  degree  of  bright- 
ness about  twenty  stars ;  of  the  second  degree, 
sixty;  of  the  third,  one  hundred  and  eighty, 
and  so  on.  But  after  about  the  twelfth 
degree  of  brightness  the  number  of  stars  does 
not  increase  in  the  same  proportion;  the  in- 
crease as  shown  by  both  the  telescope  and 
the  camera  is  comparatively  small. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that,  because 
telescopes  and  the  camera  have  not  yet 
revealed  them,  astronomers  think  there  are 
no  more  stars  to  be  discovered.  To  those 
who  believe  that  light  is  in  no  way  absorbed 
in  passing  through  space,  there  seems  to  be 
every  scientific  reason  for  believing  that 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  total  number.  But 
the  evidence  of  the  telescope  and  photography 
only  shows  that  we  are  approaching  that 
limit.  The  exact  number  will  probably 
never  be  known.  Almost  certainly  it  will 
never  be  known  by  means  of  the  telescope; 
for  we  seem  to  be  reaching  a  point  where 
it  will  be  physically  impossible  to  make 
larger  telescopes  that  can  be  effectively  used. 
The  last  extension  of  our  knowledge  of  the 
number  of  the  stars  will  probably  be  reached 
128 


THE    NUMBER    OF    THE    STARS 

through  photography.  What  is  not  recorded 
on  the  photographic  plates  of  the  future  will 
remain  to  us  unknown.  We  can  only  be 
reasonably  sure  of  one  thing:  and  that  is, 
that,  in  view  of  the  evidence  we  have  of  the 
decrease  in  the  number  of  the  stars  as  they 
grow  fainter  to  us,  the  ones  remaining  un- 
discovered are  practically  but  a  few  stragglers 
along  the  "  fringes  of  the  visible  universe,  "- 
few,  even  though  there  may  be  really  many 
thousands  of  them.  And  if  there  are  still  an 
infinite  number  whose  light  is  extinguished 
in  far  distant  space,  they  are  not  to  be 
reckoned  as  among  the  number  of  stars  in 
our  universe. 

While  the  number  of  stars  that  are  known 
is  increasing  somewhat  all  the  time,  as- 
tronomers are  not  so  much  trying  to  make 
discoveries  of  larger  numbers  as  to  learn 
something  more  about  the  stars  that  are 
already  known.  The  number  now  classified 
and  catalogued  is  something  near  eight 
hundred  thousand.  But  a  great  interna- 
tional photographic  chart  of  the  heavens  is 
at  present  being  made,  which,  when  finished, 
will  show  perhaps  something  near  forty  mill- 
ions ;  and  to  this  there  will  probably  be  no  oc- 
casion to  add  anything  for  many  years. 
129 


XVII 

THE   NAMES    OF    THE    STARS 

HAPPILY  for  the  interest  of  the  ordinary 
observer,  nearly  all  the  brighter  stars, 
and  a  few  of  the  fainter  ones,  have  individual 
names.  Sixty  or  more  of  these  names  are  in 
common  use  even  among  professional  astrono- 
mers. A  few  more  are  well  known  and  are 
used  occasionally,  and  a  number  which  are 
now  practically  obsolete  are  found  in  old 
catalogues,  or  historical  lists,  or  in  some  piece 
of  ancient  literature.  Less  than  a  hundred 
names  will  cover  all  the  stars  of  the  first  and 
second  magnitudes;  and  besides  these  there 
are  not  many  that  have  an  individual  in- 
terest for  an  observer  without  a  telescope. 
When  one  learns  to  know  fifty  or  sixty  stars 
so  that  he  can  always  recognize  them  and 
call  them  by  name,  he  begins  to  feel  that  he 
has  a  pretty  large  acquaintance  in  the 
heavens;  and  the  knowing  of  other  individ- 
130 


THE    NAMES   OF   THE    STARS 

uals  that  may  chance  to  interest  him  is  then 
the  mere  matter  of  an  introduction. 

All  of  the  individual  stellar  names  orig- 
inated with  the  ancient  astronomers,  and 
most  of  them  have  a  meaning  which  describes 
some  characteristic  of  the  star;  some  trait, 
or  color,  or  position  in  the  constellation. 
All  of  them  wTere  probably  descriptive  at 
first,  but  the  original  meaning  is  not  always 
clear.  Sometimes  designation  was  made  by 
a  circumlocution  such  as  "the  Heart  of  the 
Lion,"  "the  Eye  of  the  Bull,"  "the  Foot  of 
the  Giant."  This  was,  of  course,  too  cumber- 
some and  limited  a  method  to  answer  the 
needs  of  modern  astronomy.  But  many 
Latin  and  Arabian  names  are  still  used 
which  in  one  word  describe  the  place  the 
star  holds  in  its  constellation;  as,  for  in- 
stance, Achernar,  meaning  "the  End  of  the 
River";  and  Denebola,  "the  Tail  of  the 
Lion." 

Very  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  the 
plan  was  adopted  of  designating  the  stars  in 
each  constellation  by  the  letters  of  the 
Greek  alphabet  and  adding  the  name  of  the 
constellation  in  its  Latin  form  in  the  genitive 
case,  thus  making  the  name  of  the  constel- 
lation a  sort  of  family  name  for  all  the  stars 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

composing  it,  and  the  Greek  letters  the  given 
names.  Thus  in  the  constellation  Taurus 
we  have  Alpha  Tauri,  meaning  Alpha  of 
Taurus ;  Beta  Tauri,  Delta  Tauri,  and  so  on. 
When  the  Greek  alphabet  was  exhausted,  the 
Roman  letters  were  used.  Beginning  with 
alpha,  the  stars  of  each  constellation  were 
named  in  the  order  of  their  brightness.  In 
the  main,  though,  when  several  stars  in  the 
constellation  chanced  to  be  of  nearly  the 
same  degree  of  brightness,  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  nice  distinctions  made  between  them. 
A  century  later  another  catalogue  was 
made,  and  in  this  numbers  were  used  in- 
stead of  letters  for  the  given  names,  the 
genitive  case  of  the  constellation  still  being 
used  as  a  family  name.  Several  special  cata- 
logues have  been  made  in  which  also  the 
stars  are  indicated  by  numbers,  such  as 
Lalande's,  the  British  Association  Catalogue, 
and  Harvard  Photometry.  In  such  cases 
the  reference  is  simply  by  number  and  name 
of  catalogue.  Some  stars  that  have  in  a 
way  become  famous  by  reason  of  some  in- 
dividual peculiarity  or  characteristic  still 
have  no  designation  except  by  number. 
Among  them,  and  spoken  of  more  par- 
ticularly elsewhere  in  this  book,  are  21,185 
132 


THE    NAMES    OF    THE    STARS 

Lalande,  1830  Groombridge,  and  some  others. 
Stars  are  also  designated  by  their  position 
in  the  heavens,  which  is  expressed  in  the 
terms  of  astronomical  measurements,  right 
ascension  and  declination. 

A  result  of  these  various  methods  of  nam- 
ing the  stars  is  that  nearly  every  bright  star 
is  designated  in  several  different  ways:  by 
its  individual  name,  its  Greek  letter  name, 
its  number  in  the  various  catalogues,  and  its 
position  in  the  heavens.  But  the  ordinary 
observer  need  not  much  trouble  himself 
with  learning  them  all.  One  can  have  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  nearly  all  the  naked- 
eye  stars  without  once  resorting  to  figures 
for  names,  or  without  even  knowing  what 
right  ascension  and  declination  are.  It  is 
only  for  their  own  special  needs  that  as- 
tronomers have  evolved  these  several  schemes 
of  designation.  It  is  so  rare  a  case  when  a 
star  known  only  by  its  number  has  become, 
for  any  reason,  of  general  interest,  that  it  will 
not  offer  any  difficulty.  There  are  not  now 
more  than  half  a  dozen  such  stars.  Prob- 
ably 6 1  Cygni  (that  is,  the  star  numbered 
6 1  in  the  constellation  of  the  Swan,  or 
Cygnus)  is  the  best  known  of  these,  because 
it  is  the  first  star  whose  distance  from  us  was 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

measured,  and  it  was  until  recently  supposed 
to  be  nearer  to  us  than  any  other  star  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  Despite  its  nearness, 
however,  it  cannot  ordinarily  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye,  and  so  is  more  of  a  name  than 
an  individuality  to  us. 

The  method  of  designation  most  common 
among  writers  on  astronomy  for  the  brighter 
stars  (when  the  individual  name  is  not 
given)  is  that  of  the  Greek  letter  joined  to 
the  name  of  the  constellation.  After  the 
constellations  are  once  known,  this  is  an  easy 
method,  and,  especially  for  the  non-pro- 
fessional observer,  has  several  advantages. 
It  not  only  names  the  star,  but  assigns  it  to  a 
constellation,  and  gives  an  approximate  idea 
of  its  degree  of  brightness  as  compared  with 
other  stars,  and  particularly  as  compared 
with  other  stars  in  the  same  constellation. 
Alpha  of  a  constellation  is  almost  always  the 
brightest  star  in  the  group.  The  exceptions 
to  this  are  few  and  mainly  accidental.  One 
instance  is  that  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  the 
two  bright  stars  of  the  constellation  Gemini, 
or  the  Twins.  Pollux  is  the  brighter  of  the 
two,  yet  Castor  is  Alpha  Geminorum  and 
Pollux  is  Beta  Geminorum.  This  came  about, 
it  is  thought,  through  the  fact  that  Castor 


THE    NAMES    OF    THE    STARS 

has  diminished  in  lustre  within  the  last  three 
hundred  years. 

It  is  not  often  that  the  average  reader  will 
care,  or  need,  to  know  the  names  of  more 
than  the  seven  or  eight  brightest  stars  of  a 
constellation,  the  ones  designated  by  the  first 
seven  or  eight  letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet : 
alpha  (a),  beta  (ft),  gamma  (7),  delta  (S), 
epsilon  (e),  zeta  (f),  eta  (?/),  and  theta  (6). 
Rarely,  indeed,  will  he  care  to  know  even 
that  many.  In  the  Great  Bear  (Ursa  Major) 
the  seven  brightest  stars,  the  ones  that 
form  the  well-known  Dipper,  are  of  al- 
most equal  importance  and  brilliancy.  But 
this  is  an  exceptional  case,  and  more  often 
only  three  or  four  stars  in  a  constellation, 
the  alpha,  beta,  gamma,  and  delta  of  the 
group,  have  any  special  interest.  Occasion- 
ally one  of  the  fainter  stars  calls  for  par- 
ticular attention,  as  in  the  case  of  Mira,  the 
wonderful,  in  the  constellation  of  the  Whale, 
or  Cetus,  which  is  designated  by  the  fifteenth 
letter  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  omicron,  thus: 
O  Ceti. 

The  Greek  letter  method  of  naming  the 
stars  has,  then,  its  conveniences.  But,  after 
all,  when  a  star,  like  anything  else,  comes  to 
have  any  special  individuality  for  us  we 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

desire  a  name  for  it  that  is  all  its  own.  When 
we  come  really  to  know  splendid  Arcturus, 
we  do  not  care  to  call  him  Alpha  Bootis  any 
more  than  we  want  to  call  a  dainty  spring 
beauty  Claytonia  Virginica,  or  the  golden- 
eyed  white  daisy  Chrysanthemum  Leucan- 
themum.  And,  happily,  we  are  not  often  put 
to  this  discomfort,  for  there  is  no  star  of  the 
first  magnitude  in  the  northern  hemisphere 
that  has  not  an  individual  name.  In  the 
southern  hemisphere,  however,  there  are 
three;  Alpha  Centauri,  Beta  Centauri,  and 
Alpha  Crucis.  Alpha  Centauri,  we  have 
seen,  is  the  star  that  is  nearest  to  us.  If  it 
had  been  known  to  the  ancients  in  the  un- 
scientific days  when  one  cared  more  to  know 
than  to  classify  and  had  time  to  consider  the 
individual,  no  doubt  we  should  have  had  a 
picturesque  name  for  our  nearest  neighbor. 
I  remember  feeling  distinctly  grateful  to  the 
old  astronomers  for  having  given  individu- 
al names  to  much  less  conspicuous  or  impor- 
tant stars.  A  window  in  my  bedroom  opens 
out  towards  the  northeast,  and  during  the 
autumn  and  early  winter  the  Dipper  is  vis- 
ible there  a  good  part  of  the  night.  Many 
times  it  has  happened  that  I  have  suddenly 
opened  my  eyes  in  the  night  and  found  there 
136 


THE    NAMES    OF    THE   STARS 

beaming  down  upon  me  the  soft  rays  from 
the  star  Mizar,  which  lies  just  in  the  bend  of 
the  handle  of  the  Dipper  and  next  to  the  end 
star,  and  its  tiny  companion  Alcor,  that  seems 
to  send  its  own  little  beams  almost  along  the 
same  path.  The  simple  friendliness  that  I 
felt  in  encountering  them  in  this  way  came 
as  much,  I  think,  from  my  being  able  to  greet 
them  by  their  own  names  as  from  their  in- 
trinsic beauty  and  steadfast  cheerfulness. 


XVIII 

THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    STARS 

STARS  are  classified  according  to  their 
brilliancy  into  magnitudes;  and  as  ap- 
plied to  them,  the  word  magnitude  has  a 
specific  meaning.  It  has  reference  solely  to 
their  brightness  and  has  nothing  to  do  with 
their  proportions.  Many  stars  which  ap- 
pear to  us  very  small  and  faint  we  know  to 
be  of  immense  size,  far  exceeding  some  of  the 
most  resplendent  stars  of  the  heavens;  so 
there  is  no  relation  between  the  real  and  ap- 
parent magnitude  of  a  star — that  is,  between 
its  size  and  its  brilliancy. 

This  use  of  the  word  magnitude  was  fixed 
in  astronomy  in  the  early  days  of  the  science, 
before  the  telescope  had  been  invented  and 
before  there  was  any  way  of  judging  of  the 
dimensions  of  a  star  other  than  by  its  ap- 
pearance to  the  naked  eye.  The  stars  that 
seemed  the  largest  and  brightest  were  sup- 
138 


THE    LIGHT   OF    THE    STARS 

posed  really  to  be  so,  and  were  said  to  be  of 
the  first  magnitude;  the  next  brightest  were 
called  second  magnitude  stars,  the  next 
third  magnitude,  and  so  on.  All  the  stars 
visible  to  the  naked  eye  were  divided  accord- 
ing to  their  lucidity  into  six  magnitudes,  and 
modern  astronomers  have  found  it  con- 
venient to  continue  this  way  of  describing 
their  comparative  luminous  power,  and  have 
applied  the  same  principle  in  describing 
telescopic  stars  down  to  the  twentieth 
magnitude,  which  is  said  to  be  the  faintest 
that  can  be  seen  in  even  the  largest  telescopes. 
It  is,  of  course,  an  arbitrary  classification, 
for  there  are  stars  of  every  degree  of  bright- 
ness between  Sirius,  the  brightest  star  in 
the  heavens,  and  the  faintest  star  we  can  see; 
and,  so  far  as  accuracy  is  concerned,  we  might 
as  well  have  sixty  magnitudes  among  the 
visible  stars  as  six.  Moreover,  with  no  more 
accurate  measurement  than  one  can  make 
with  his  eye,  it  is  not  easy  for  the  ordinary 
observer  to  tell  the  difference  between  the 
amount  of  light  we  receive  from  a  faint  star 
of  one  magnitude  and  a  bright  one  of  the  next 
lower  magnitude.  Since  naked-eye  observa- 
tion was  the  only  way  of  determining  stellar 
magnitudes  among  the  ancient  astronomers, 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

there  was  considerable  difference  of  opinion 
concerning  the  brightness  of  such  stars  as 
were  on  the  border  lines  of  each  magnitude. 
To  the  first  magnitude  there  were  assigned 
anywhere  from  fourteen  to  twenty  stars,  and 
in  the  lower  magnitudes  the  difficulty  of 
agreement  was  even  greater. 

Modern  astronomers,  while  retaining  the 
old  method  of  classification,  have  endeavored 
to  systematize  it  by  the  accurate  measure- 
ment of  the  amount  of  light  we  receive  from 
each  star.  This  is  done  with  an  instrument 
known  as  a  photometer,  by  means  of  which 
very  slight  gradations  in  the  light  of  the  stars 
can  be  determined.  With  this  instrument 
practically  all  the  naked-eye  stars  have  been 
measured,  and  they  have  been  catalogued 
accordingly.  This  work  has  been  done  in 
this  country  under  the  direction  of  Prof. 
E.  C.  Pickering,  of  the  Harvard  Observatory, 
with  a  photometer  of  his  own  invention. 
At  Oxford,  England,  the  late  Prof.  Charles  S. 
Pritchard  carried  on  the  same  work,  using  a 
different  sort  of  photometer.  The  photo- 
metric measurements  made  at  Harvard  and 
at  Oxford  show  practically  the  same  results, 
the  slight  difference  being  attributable  prob- 
ably to  the  difference  in  atmosphere. 
140 


THE    LIGHT   OF    THE    STARS 

In  making  the  measurements  some  stand- 
ard of  light  is  taken,  and  the  light  of  each 
star  is  compared  with  it  and  the  magnitude 
determined  according  to  a  ratio  which  has 
been  agreed  upon.  In  the  Harvard  Photom- 
etry, the  Pole  Star  (Polaris)  is  the  standard 
star  taken  for  comparison.  It  is  a  conspicu- 
ous and  important  star  that  every  one  knows, 
and  has  long  been  rated  as  of  the  second 
magnitude  —  even  in  the  days  of  rough 
judging  of  the  brightness  of  the  stars. 

One  would  think  that  in  determining 
magnitudes,  the  brightest  star,  or  one  of  the 
brightest,  would  be  taken  as  the  standard, 
and  all  the  others  would  be  graded  from 
that.  This  is  probably  what  would  have 
been  done  if  the  stars  had  not  been  classified 
as  to  brightness  until  the  delicate  instru- 
ments for  measuring  their  light  wrere  in- 
vented. As  it  is,  the  classification  was  made 
many  hundred  years  ago,  and  though  mod- 
ern astronomers  are  endeavoring  to  ex- 
press the  comparative  gradations  of  light  as 
accurately  as  possible,  they  still  do  not  much 
disturb  the  distinctions  which  have  been  long 
familiar. 

By  photometric  measurements  the  grada- 
tions of  light  between  the  different  magni- 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

tudes  are  expressed  in  tenths  by  decimal 
fractions.  Thus  the  magnitude  of  one  star 
is  2,  that  of  another  a  little  less  bright  is  2.1, 
and  so  on  to  2.9,  which  is  almost  as  faint 
as  that  of  a  star  whose  magnitude  is  3.  The 
larger  the  fraction  the  nearer  the  magnitude 
of  the  star  is  to  the  next  magnitude  below 
the  one  in  which  it  is  classed,  and  the  higher 
the  number  of  the  magnitude  the  fainter  the 
light  of  the  star. 

For  the  ordinary  observer  it  is  sufficient 
to  know  that  a  star  is  of  the  first,  second, 
third,  or  whatever  magnitude,  as  the  case 
may  be.  These  nice  distinctions  in  tenths  be- 
tween degrees  of  brightness  are  useful  more 
to  the  close  student  than  to  the  general  read- 
er. The  usual  way  of  classifying  is  to  desig- 
nate a  star  as  of  the  magnitude  to  which  it 
is  nearest.  Consequently  each  magnitude 
reaches  out  on  each  side  and  takes  in  all  stars 
that  are  not  more  than  five-tenths  of  a  mag- 
nitude from  it.  For  example,  all  are  called 
first  magnitude  stars  whose  magnitude  is 
brighter  than  1.5.  If  a  star's  brilliancy  is 
found  to  be  1.6,  it  is  classed  as  a  second  mag- 
nitude star,  and  all  are  of  the  second  mag- 
nitude from  this  down  to  2.5;  and  similarly 
the  other  magnitudes  are  reckoned. 
142 


THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    STARS 

This  is  true  of  all  the  magnitudes  except 
the  first.  This  has  its  limit  only  on  one  side. 
It  includes  all  stars  that  are  brighter  than 
1.5  magnitude.  There  are  but  twenty  stars 
of  the  first  magnitude,  but  the  individual 
lustre  of  them  varies  so  as  to  cover  nearly 
three  magnitudes.  This  difficulty  is  over- 
come by  expressing  the  magnitude  brighter 
than  i  as  o,  the  magnitude  next  brighter  as  -o, 
and  the  next  as  -i.  The  magnitude  of  Sirius, 
the  most  brilliant  of  all  the  stars,  is  -1.58. 
Altair  and  Aldebaran,  in  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, and  Alpha  Crucis,  in  the  southern, 
are  almost  exactly  first  magnitude  stars. 
Seven  others  are  less  bright  than  Aldebaran, 
and  eleven  are  between  Aldebaran  and  Sirius. 

According  to  the  Harvard  measurements 
the  magnitudes  of  the  twenty  brightest  stars 
are  as  follows: 


Sirius  (Alpha  Canis  Majoris) -1.58 

Canopus  (Alpha  Carinae) -0.86 

Alpha  Centauri 0.06 

Vega  (Alpha  Lyrae) 0.14 

Capella  (Alpha  Aurigae) 0.21 

Arcturus  (Alpha  Bootis) 0.24 

Rigel  (Beta  Orionis) 0.34 

Procyon  (Alpha  Canis  Minoris) 0.48 

Achernar  (Alpha  Eridani) 0.60 

143 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Beta  Centauri 0.86 

Altair  (Alpha  Aquilse) 0.89 

Betelgeuse  (Alpha  Orionis).  .  .  \  ^ 

f  1.4   mm. 

Alpha  Crucis 1.05 

Aldebaran  (Alpha  Tauri) 1.06 

Pollux  (Beta  Geminorum) 1.21 

Spica  (Alpha  Virginis) 1.21 

Antares  (Alpha  Scorpii) 1.22 

Fomalhaut  (Alpha  Piscis  Australis).      1.29 

Deneb  (Alpha  Cygni) 1.33 

Regulus  (Alpha  Leonis) 1.34 

The  light  ratio  agreed  upon  between  the 
different  magnitudes  is  2.5.  That  is,  a 
standard  star  of  each  magnitude  is  two  and  a 
half  times  brighter  than  a  standard  star  of 
the  next  lower  magnitude.  Or,  to  put  it  the 
other  way,  each  magnitude  is  four-tenths  as 
bright  as  the  next  higher  magnitude.  This 
makes  a  first  magnitude  star  one  hundred 
times  brighter  than  a  sixth  magnitude  star, 
and  a  sixth  magnitude  star  ten  thousand 
times  brighter  than  one  of  the  sixteenth  mag- 
nitude. In  the  same  ratio,  a  first  magnitude 
star  would  be  nearly  four  hundred  thousand 
times  brighter  than  a  fifteenth  magnitude, 
and  thirty-seven  million  times  brighter  than 
a  twentieth  magnitude.  This  would  make 
Sirius  something  over  two  hundred  million 
144 


THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    STARS 

times  brighter  than  the  faintest  star  of  the 
twentieth  magnitude. 

But  notwithstanding  this  vast  superiority 
in  brilliancy  of  the  brightest  stars,  we  get 
more  starlight  from  the  faint  stars  as  a  whole 
than  from  the  bright  ones  as  a  whole.  This 
is  on  account  of  the  number  of  the  faint  stars ; 
for  it  has  been  found  that  each  magnitude  is 
about  three  times  more  numerous  than  the 
one  which  precedes  it.  Hence,  though  a 
first  magnitude  star  is  two  and  a  half  times 
brighter  than  a  second  magnitude  star,  there 
are  three  times  as  many  second  magnitude 
stars,  and  consequently  we  get  more  light 
from  them  as  a  whole.  Though  a  first 
magnitude  star  is  three  thousand  times 
brighter  than  a  tenth  magnitude,  yet  there 
are  seventeen  thousand  times  as  many  of 
the  tenth  magnitude  as  of  the  first.  This 
progressive  increase  in  number  is  an  ap- 
proximate estimate,  but  it  is  deduced  from 
actual  catalogues  of  the  stars  and  is  fairly 
accurate. 

According  to  this  ratio  of  progression,  and 
making  due  allowance  for  the  way  in  which 
one  magnitude  merges  into  another,  the  six 
or  seven  thousand  stars  visible  to  the  naked 
eye  are  distributed  about  as  follows: 


THE  FRIENDLY   STARS 

20  stars  of  the  first  magnitude, 

60  "  "      "     second     '    " 

180  "  "      "    third 

540  "  "      "     fourth 

1620  "  "      "     fifth 

4860  "  "      "     sixth 


Making  7280  the  total  number  of  stars 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  How  many  stars 
one  really  sees  of  this  seven  thousand  de- 
pends upon  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  and 
the  keenness  of  one's  sight.  Most  persons 
under  ordinary  conditions  fail  to  see  nearly 
two  thousand  of  them,  and  it  is  an  eye  of  re- 
markable power  that  sees  them  all.  How- 
ever many  one  sees,  there  are  always  many 
more  just  on  the  verge  of  visibility  that  seem 
to  come  and  go.  This  is  one  reason  why 
there  seem  to  be  so  many  more  stars  in  view 
than  there  really  are. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  all  this  applies 
only  to  the  stars  as  we  see  them,  and  has  no 
relation  to  their  real  size  or  their  light -giving 
power.  They  may  be  brighter  because  they 
are  nearer  to  us,  or  because  they  are  really 
more  brilliant  and  give  out  more  light  than 
others;  but  none  of  these  qualities  is  de- 
termined by  their  apparent  lustre.  As  a 
146 


THE   LIGHT    OF   THE    STARS 

matter  of  fact,  some  of  the  brightest  stars  are 
very  well  known  to  be  not  the  largest.  There 
is  reason  to  think,  however,  that  in  general 
the  brightest  stars  are  probably  the  nearest 
to  us,  though  there  are  many  exceptions,  and 
though  several  of  the  stars  known  to  be 
among  those  nearest  to  us  are  of  the  sixth 
and  seventh  magnitudes. 


XIX 

THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE   STARS 

O  EVENT Y  years  ago  we  did  not  know 
O  the  distance  of  a  single  star.  Though 
astronomers  had  been  working  on  this 
problem  for  many  years,  it  was  not  until 
1838  that  they  succeeded  in  getting  what 
seemed  to  be  any  fairly  accurate  measure- 
ments. In  this  year  the  distance  of  61 
Cygni  was  calculated  with  reasonable  correct- 
ness; and  at  about  the  same  time  it  was  dis- 
covered that  Alpha  Centauri  was  within 
calculable  distance  and  was  even  nearer  than 
6 1  Cygni.  Strangely  enough,  these  two 
stars  have  proved  to  be  among  our  nearest 
neighbors.  No  star  has  been  found  since 
that  is  as  near  as  Alpha  Centauri,  and  for 
many  years  6 1  Cygni  was  supposed  to  be  the 
next  nearest.  Recently,  however,  another 
small  star,  with  no  individual  name,  but  ap- 
pearing in  the  catalogue  as  21,185  Lalande, 
148 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

has  been  found  to  be  a  little  nearer  than 
6 1  Cygni. 

The  distances  of  a  number  of  stars  have 
been  calculated  since  1839 ;  and  through  their 
knowledge  of  the  distances  of  these,  astron- 
omers have  been  able  to  at  least  place 
limitations  on  the  distances  of  others,  and 
taking  color,  brightness,  and  other  charac- 
teristics into  consideration,  have  made  in- 
ferences also  as  to  size  and  constitution  which 
it  seems  reasonable  to  believe  are  very  near 
the  truth.  The  ascertainment  of  distances 
has  opened  up  a  very  large  field  of  investiga- 
tion ;  for,  until  the  distance  of  a  star  is  known, 
we  can  know  but  little  of  its  size  or  light- 
giving  power,  and  hence  little  of  its  real 
nature,  though  its  chemical  constitution 
may  be  revealed  by  the  spectroscope.  Two 
stars  may  be  apparently  of  equal  size  and 
brilliancy,  but  when  we  learn  that  one  is 
many  times  farther  from  us  than  the  other, 
we  realize  how  much  greater  the  more  dis- 
tant one  must  be.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
two  brightest  stars,  Sirius  and  Canopus. 
They  are  both  so  much  brighter  than  a 
standard  first  magnitude  star  that  they  are 
really  in  a  class  by  themselves,  though  called 
first  magnitude  stars.  Sirius  is  the  brighter 
149 


THE   FRIENDLY   STARS 

of  the  two,  and  it  is  five  hundred  thousand 
times  farther  from  us  than  the  sun.  But 
Canopus  is  so  far  away  that  its  distance  has 
never  been  ascertained  with  certainty.  Many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  measure  it,  but 
the  only  result  reached  is  that  it  probably 
cannot  be  nearer  than  twenty  million  times 
the  distance  of  the  sun.  Since  the  sun  is 
ninety- three  millions  of  miles  from  us,  this 
would  make  Canopus  more  than  a  quadrillion 
of  miles  farther  away  than  Sirius;  hence  it 
must  be  very  much  the  larger  body  of  the  two. 
Measuring  the  distance  of  a  star  is  called 
by  astronomers  finding  its  parallax.  Roughly 
speaking,  parallax  is  the  apparent  change  of 
position  that  an  object  seems  to  make  when 
viewed  from  different  points.  If  you  hold 
a  pencil  out  in  front  of  you  about  one  foot 
and  look  at  it  with  first  one  eye  and  then  the 
other,  you  will  see  that  it  seems  to  change 
its  position  relative  to  any  object  back  of  it. 
If  you  hold  the  pencil  farther  away,  you  will 
see  that  the  change  of  position  seems  less, 
and  if  you  place  it  still  farther  away,  there 
seems  to  be  no  change  of  position  at  all.  Then 
if  you  will  move  your  head  from  side  to  side 
and  thus  lengthen  the  line  between  the  two 
points  of  observation,  which  was  at  first  only 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

the  distance  between  your  eyes,  the  pencil 
will  have  to  be  placed  still  farther  away 
before  it  seems  to  remain  stationary  when 
looked  at  from  both  points  of  view.  The 
longer  the  distance  between  the  two  points 
of  observation,  the  farther  away  the  object 
observed  will  have  to  be  to  remain  in  ap- 
parently the  same  place  when  viewed  from 
each  point.  When  mathematicians  know 
the  length  of  the  base  line  (that  is,  the  line 
connecting  the  two  points  of  observation), 
and  can  measure  the  angle  made  by  the 
meeting  of  the  other  two  lines  (that  is,  the 
lines  from  the  two  points  of  observation  to 
the  object  observed),  they  can  tell  how  far 
away  the  object  is. 

When  looked  at  in  the  ordinary  way,  a  star 
never  seems  to  change  its  position  in  the 
heavens.  Even  if  viewed  from  points  whose 
distance  from  each  other  is  the  whole  di- 
ameter of  the  earth,  eight  thousand  miles, 
it  shows  no  change  of  position. 

At  first  thought  one  would  think  that  we 
could  not  find  a  line  longer  than  that  from 
one  side  of  the  earth  to  the  other.  But  as- 
tronomers have  found  one  in  space.  It  is 
the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit,  or  the  path 
over  which  the  earth  travels  in  its  yearly 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

journey  around  the  sun.     This  diameter  is 


ERRATA 

Page  152,  second,  eighth  and  seventeenth  lines, 
186,000,000  instead  of  186,000,  and  twenty-three 
thousand  instead  of  twenty-three  in  second  line. 


die       ai/lli        VCiy        MlgilL.        JJ_y       SLiUJb 

mathematical  calculation  we  know,  however, 
that  any  star  that  shows  a  change  of  position 
of  only  one  second,  the  smallest  subdivision 
of  a  circle,  when  viewed  from  each  end  of  a 
line  186,000  miles  long,  must  be  a  little  more 
than  nineteen  trillions  of  miles  from  us. 
Thus  far  no  star  in  the  heavens  has  been 
found  to  change  its  position  this  much ;  or,  as 
astronomers  say,  no  star  has  yielded  a 
parallax  of  one  second  (i")-  Consequently, 
as  far  as  we  know,  there  is  no  star  as  near  to 
us  as  nineteen  trillions  of  miles.  The  largest 
parallax  that  has  been  found  is  .75  of  a 
second. 

The  sun  is  ninety-three  millions  of  miles 
from  us,  yet  if  we  wrere  journeying  in  space, 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

we  might  reach  the  sun  and  then  go  two 
hundred  thousand  times  farther  away  and 
still  not  come  near  any  fixed  star.  Indeed, 
we  should  have  to  go  still  eighty  thousand 
times  the  sun's  distance  from  the  earth,  for 
a  parallax  of  .75  of  a  second  means  a  dis- 
tance of  seven  trillions  of  miles  more  than  the 
nineteen  trillions .  In  other  words ,  the  nearest 
star  that  has  been  discovered  is  about  twenty- 
six  trillions  of  miles  away,  \vhich  is  equal  to 
two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  times  the 
distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun. 

Other  stars  are  many  times  farther  away 
than  this.  Their  distances  in  miles  expressed 
in  figures  are  not  much  easier  to  comprehend 
than  infinity.  Most  astronomical  numbers 
are  too  large  to  comprehend  and  too  cum- 
bersome for  easy  use.  For  this  reason  the 
distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun  (93,000,000 
miles)  has  been  adopted  as  the  astronomical 
unit,  and  in  expressing  long  distances  we 
ordinarily  say  so  many  times  the  sun's  dis- 
tance. But  some  of  the  stars  are  millions 
of  times  the  sun's  distance,  which  still  gives 
us  an  awkward  lot  of  figures  to  deal  with. 
Astronomers  have,  therefore,  chosen  another 
unit  of  length  for  expressing  stellar  dis- 
tances. This  unit  is  the  distance  over  which 
IS3 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

journey  around  the  sun.  This  diameter  is 
186,000  miles  long,  or  more  than  twenty- 
three  times  as  long  as  the  diameter  of  the 
earth.  Observations  of  the  stars  whose  dis- 
tance is  to  be  measured  are  made  when  we 
are  at  one  point  in  the  earth's  orbit,  and  then 
again  six  months  later,  when  we  are  at  the 
opposite  point,  or  186,000  miles  removed 
from  the  first.  A  few  stars  change  their 
apparent  positions  when  thus  observed  from 
the  two  ends  of  this  great  line;  but  the 
changes  are  still  very  slight.  By  strict 
mathematical  calculation  we  know,  however, 
that  any  star  that  shows  a  change  of  position 
of  only  one  second,  the  smallest  subdivision 
of  a  circle,  when  viewed  from  each  end  of  a 
line  186,000  miles  long,  must  be  a  little  more 
than  nineteen  trillions  of  miles  from  us. 
Thus  far  no  star  in  the  heavens  has  been 
found  to  change  its  position  this  much ;  or,  as 
astronomers  say,  no  star  has  yielded  a 
parallax  of  one  second  (i")«  Consequently, 
as  far  as  we  know,  there  is  no  star  as  near  to 
us  as  nineteen  trillions  of  miles.  The  largest 
parallax  that  has  been  found  is  .75  of  a 
second. 

The  sun  is  ninety-three  millions  of  miles 
from  us,  yet  if  we  wrere  journeying  in  space, 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    $TARS 

we  might  reach  the  sun  and  then  go  two 
^: — ^  farther  away  and 


distance  ui  ^^  ~. 

Other  stars  are  many  timesTTartlier  away 
than  this.  Their  distances  in  miles  expressed 
in  figures  are  not  much  easier  to  comprehend 
than  infinity.  Most  astronomical  numbers 
are  too  large  to  comprehend  and  too  cum- 
bersome for  easy  use.  For  this  reason  the 
distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun  (93,000,000 
miles)  has  been  adopted  as  the  astronomical 
unit,  and  in  expressing  long  distances  we 
ordinarily  say  so  many  times  the  sun's  dis- 
tance. But  some  of  the  stars  are  millions 
of  times  the  sun's  distance,  which  still  gives 
us  an  awkward  lot  of  figures  to  deal  with. 
Astronomers  have,  therefore,  chosen  another 
unit  of  length  for  expressing  stellar  dis- 
tances. This  unit  is  the  distance  over  which 
153 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

light  passes  in  a  year.  We  know  that  light 
travels  at  the  rate  of  186,400  miles  in  a  sec- 
ond. This  equals  about  six  trillions  of  miles 
in  a  year,  or  about  sixty-three  thousand  times 
the  sun's  distance.  Therefore,  for  every  six 
trillions  of  miles  that  a  star  is  distant  we 
speak  of  it  as  one  year  away.  The  nearest 
star,  then,  is  a  little  more  than  four  and  one- 
third  years  away,  which  means  that  its 
distance  is  more  than  four  and  one-third 
times  six  trillions  of  miles. 

We  do  not  see  the  light  from  the  nearest 
fixed  star  for  more  than  four  years  after  it 
leaves  the  star.  From  many  stars  we  do  not 
see  it  for  a  hundred  years,  or  for  many  hun- 
dreds of  years.  From  some  of  the  faintest 
stars  it  may  take  light  even  thousands  of 
years  to  reach  us.  No  doubt  streams  of 
light  are  travelling  towards  us  now  which  set 
out  on  their  long  journey  before  Christ  was 
born  and  have  not  yet  reached  us.  The 
stars  from  which  they  come  may  no  longer 
exist,  but  we  shall  never  know  it.  The  Pole 
Star,  which  we  think  is  the  most  stable  thing 
in  the  universe,  might  be  extinguished  for 
nearly  half  a  century  and  we  should  still  be 
ignorant  of  the  fact;  for  the  light  that  we 
now  see  probably  started  on  its  journey  to 


THE    DISTANCES   OF    THE    STARS 

us  almost  fifty  years  ago.  And  this  though 
the  velocity  of  light  is  so  great  as  to  send  it 
around  the  entire  circumference  of  the  earth 
(25,000  miles)  more  than  seven  times  in  a 
second.  From  the  nearest  fixed  star  our  sun, 
which  gives  us  ninety  billion  times  more  light 
than  a  first  magnitude  star,  would  shine  only 
as  a  star  of  the  second  magnitude.  Neptune, 
the  farthermost  planet  of  the  solar  system, 
is  almost  three  billions  of  miles  from  the 
sun;  yet  between  us  and  the  nearest  fixed 
star  we  could  have  several  thousand  such 
solar  systems  and  still  have  some  room 
left. 

We  think  sound  travels  fast  when  we  say 
that  it  goes  at  the  rate  of  one  thousand  and 
ninety  feet  per  second.  But  if  it  were 
possible  for  sound  to  travel  to  us  from  the 
nearest  fixed  star,  it  would,  even  at  this  rate 
of  speed,  spend  three  millions  of  years  on  the 
journey  through  space.  Fortunately  sound 
is  dependent  on  our  astmosphere  for  its 
motion  and  does  not  travel  through  space 
as  light  does.  If  it  did,  we  would  probably 
have  such  a  mighty  and  continuous  thunder 
that  our  ears  would  have  to  be  constructed 
very  differently  from  what  they  are  now  to 
stand  the  shock;  for  tremendous  explosions 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

and  upheavals  are  going  on  all  the  time  among 
the  stars,  of  which  our  sun  is  one. 

There  are  about  seventy-two  stars  for 
which  a  parallax  has  been  found,  and  for 
about  fifty  of  them  with,  it  is  believed,  pretty 
nearly  exactness.  Many  more  have  seemed 
to  yield  a  parallax;  but  the  possibility  of 
error  in  delicate  calculations  and  observations 
is  so  great  that  astronomers,  who  are  a  very 
conservative  set  of  men,  have  not  in  these 
cases  accepted  the  results  as  final.  Slight 
corrections  are  being  made  all  the  time,  even 
in  the  case  of  parallaxes  that  had  seemed 
correct.  In  such  observations  allowance 
must  be  made  for  errors  of  various  kinds. 
Even  personal  peculiarities  must  be  taken 
into  account ;  for,  with  the  same  honesty  of 
purpose  and  working  with  the  same  in- 
struments, persons  of  different  temperaments 
will  still  see  things  a  little  differently.  So 
in  the  final  allowance  for  probable  error 
which  follows  any  calculation  of  delicate 
problems  in  astronomy,  the  astronomer  takes 
his  personal  equation  into  consideration. 
But  apart  from  this  element  of  uncertainty, 
it  is  still  not  all  a  plain  case  of  making  and  re- 
cording observations  in  seeking  a  parallax. 
Account  must  be  taken  of  refraction,  which 
156 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

causes  an  apparent  deviation  from  the  real 
position  of  an  object;  of  the  motion  of  the 
earth  through  space,  which  does  not  stop  for 
the  making  of  any  observations,  however 
important;  of  nutation,  which  is  a  wabbling 
of  the  earth  on  its  axis ;  of  precession,  which 
is  another  motion  of  the  earth;  and  of  still 
other  motions  which  are  disturbing. 

The  work  of  measuring  the  distances  of  the 
stars  is  being  pursued  with  great  diligence 
and  ardor.  Every  clear  night  the  search  is 
going  on,  and  the  number  of  parallaxes  found 
is  increasing.  A  special  effort  is  making  to 
resolve  into  some  sort  of  order  the  apparently 
haphazard  distribution  of  the  stars  in  the 
heavens,  and  find  out  if  there  is  any  one  class 
of  stars  that  is  nearer  to  us  than  another,  and 
definitely  what  connection  there  is  between 
distance  and  apparent  lustre.  To  this  end 
great  effort  is  being  made  to  secure  even  ap- 
proximately correct  parallaxes  for  a  large 
number  of  stars  in  cases  where  absolutely 
correct  ones  have  not  yet  been  found. 

There  seems  to  be  some  reason  to  believe, 
though  astronomers  do  not  state  it  dog- 
matically, that  on  the  whole  the  brightest 
stars  are  nearest  to  us.  But  there  are  so 
many  exceptions  that  perhaps  it  would  be 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

more  accurate  to  say  that  the  faintest  stars 
are  farthest  away.  Alpha  Centauri,  the  near- 
est star  of  all,  is  a  brilliant  first  magnitude 
star.  Procyon,  another  first  magnitude  star, 
is  something  less  than  ten  light  years  away. 
Sirius,  the  brightest  star  in  the  heavens,  is 
also  comparatively  near,  its  light — journey 
through  space  being  a  little  more  than  eight 
years  (8.8).  On  the  other  hand,  61  Cygni, 
which  is  of  the  fifth  magnitude,  is  more  than 
half  a  year  nearer  than  Sirius ;  and  the  small 
star  of  the  sixth  magnitude  known  as 
Lalande  2 1 ,185  is  more  than  a  year  and  a  half 
nearer;  while  Canopus,  the  star  next  bright- 
est to  Sirius,  takes  not  less  than  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  years  to  send  its  light 
to  us.  Arcturus,  one  of  the  brightest  stars 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  is  more  than  a 
hundred  years  away;  Betelgeuse,  Antares, 
and  Regulus  are  each  at  least  one  hundred 
and  sixty-two  years  away;  and  Spica  and 
Rigel  have  not  yet  yielded  any  parallax. 
Of  the  other  first  magnitude  stars  some  have 
been  measured  and  some  have  not.  Of 
those  that  have  been,  not  one  is  nearer  than 
fourteen  years  and  only  two  are  nearer  than 
thirty  years.  So,  while  it  may  be  true 
of  the  stars  taken  in  large  numbers  that  a 
158 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

larger  proportion  of  the  bright  ones  are  near 
us  than  of  the  faint  ones,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  because  a  star  is  brighter 
than  others  it  is,  therefore,  nearer,  nor  that 
any  particular  faint  star  is  among  those  that 
are  farthest  away.  Brightness  is  one  of  the 
criteria  of  nearness,  but  it  is  not  always  the 
determining  one. 

Of  the  distances  of  the  stars  from  each 
other  we  can  have  no  conception  until  we 
know  their  distance  from  us.  Some  of  those 
that  appear  to  lie  very  close  together  may 
only  lie  in  nearly  the  same  line  of  sight  and 
may  really  be  separated  from  each  other  by 
many  times  their  distance  from  us.  There 
is  reason  to  think,  though,  that  many  of  the 
groups  are  not  mere  accidents  of  vision, 
but  that  most  of  the  stars  composing  them 
have  some  close  connection  and  are  probably 
comparatively  near  each  other.  This  is  in- 
dicated sometimes  through  spectrum  analysis 
and  sometimes  through  telescopic  observa- 
tion. By  the  spectrum  we  learn  that  the 
stars  in  certain  groups  are  all  in  nearly  the 
same  stage  of  development;  and  thus  they 
seem  to  have  had  a  common  origin  and  may 
be  comparatively  near  each  other.  This  is 
the  case  with  the  stars  of  the  Pleiades.  By 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

the  telescope  we  learn  that  all  the  stars  in 
certain  groups  are  moving  through  space  in 
the  same  direction;  and  thus  they  seem  to 
have  a  common  destination.  This  is  the 
case  of  five  of  the  principal  stars  forming  the 
Dipper.  Sometimes  it  is  found  that  the 
stars  in  a  group  revolve  about  each  other, 
thus  forming  a  little  system  of  their  own; 
and  by  the  rapidity  of  their  revolutions  we 
can  get  some  idea  of  their  nearness  to  each 
other. 

It  seems  a  little  strange  that  the  stars  can 
thus  disport  themselves  in  space  so  that  we 
can  see  it  by  the  right  sort  of  looking,  and  yet 
in  most  cases  can  keep  from  us  so  securely  the 
secret  of  their  distance.  Some  day  they  will 
show  us  a  way  to  this  secret,  and  when  we 
have  once  learned  it  many  other  secret  doors 
will  be  unlocked.  For  in  astronomy  every 
discovery  that  is  made  is  a  direct  aid  tow- 
ards making  others.  Already  a  vague  con- 
nection has  been  established  between  distance 
and  two  other  characteristics  of  the  stars: 
independent  motion  through  space  and  mo- 
tion around  each  other;  for,  besides  bright- 
ness, which  I  have  spoken  of,  the  other  two 
criteria  of  nearness  are  large  proper,  or  inde- 
pendent, motion  and  a  quickly  revolving 
160 


THE    DISTANCES    OF    THE    STARS 

companion.  Yet  1830  Groombridge,  which 
has  the  largest  independent  motion  of  any 
star  yet  observed  in  the  northern  hemisphere, 
is  not  one  of  the  nearest  stars,  but  is  ten 
times  as  far  away  as  Alpha  Centauri ;  and  for 
Algol,  which  has  a  quickly  revolving  com- 
panion, no  parallax  has  ever  been  found; 
while  Sirius  and  Procyon,  both  comparatively 
near  by,  have  companions  with  a  period  of 
nearly  fifty  years. 


XX 

DOUBLE    STARS 

A  GREAT  many  of  the  stars  that  we  see 
/v  as  one  with  the  naked  eye  are,  in  reality, 
composed  of  two,  sometimes  of  three,  and  in 
a  few  cases  of  four  or  more  stars.  The  reason 
that  we  see  them  as  a  single  star  is,  either 
that  they  are  too  close  together  to  show  any 
space  between  them  at  the  enormous  dis- 
tance they  are  from  us,  or  that  one  of  them 
is  too  faint  to  be  visible  without  a  telescope. 
Castor  is  an  example  of  the  first  case.  The 
two  principal  stars  composing  it  are  of  the 
second  and  third  magnitudes,  and  either  of 
them  could  be  seen  with  the  unaided  eye 
if  they  were  not  so  near  together.  Their 
nearness,  of  course,  is  only  comparative. 
Hundreds  of  millions  of  miles  probably 
divide  them ;  but  their  distance  from  us  is  so 
great  as  to  make  many  hundreds  of  millions 
of  miles  dwindle  to  a  mere  point.  Regulus 
162 


DOUBLE   STARS 

is  an  example  of  the  second  case.  It  has  a 
companion  star  which  is  too  small  to  be  seen 
with  the  naked  eye,  and  yet  the  distance  be- 
tween the  two  stars  is  no  less  than  that  be- 
tween some  other  stars  which  the  eye  can 
easily  separate  because  they  can  both  be 
seen  by  the  eye  alone. 

Sometimes  we  loosely  call  a  star  double 
when  we  can  really  see  without  a  glass  the 
two  stars  composing  it.  Epsilon  Lyrae, 
which  we  already  know,  is  such  a  star.  To 
many  persons  it  seems  to  be  a  single  star; 
but  a  good  eye  will  discover  that  it  is  two. 
They  are  three  minutes  apart,  and  this  is 
about  the  smallest  distance  that  the  eye  can 
discern  among  the  stars. 

The  star  next  to  Aldebaran  in  the  V-- 
shaped figure  of  which  it  is  a  part  is  also 
spoken  of  as  a  double  star,  though  its  two 
components  are  as  much  as  six  minutes  apart 
and  can  ordinarily  be  seen  with  the  unaided 
eye.  There  are  many  such  double  stars. 
But  astronomers  do  not  call  a  star  double  un- 
less a  telescope  is  required  to  separate  the 
components  of  it,  and  even  then  they  re- 
ject all  stars  that  do  not  lie  nearly  ten  times 
nearer  together  than  the  two  principal  stars 
of  Epsilon  Lyrae. 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Sometimes  two  stars  lie  in  such  a  position 
that  they  seem  to  us  to  be  almost  touching 
each  other,  yet  are  in  no  way  connected  and 
only  happen  to  lie  in  the  same  line  of  vision, 
one  being  enormously  farther  away  than  the 
other.  Their  appearance  as  one  is  a  mere 
matter  of  perspective.  Such  combinations  of 
the  light  of  two  stars  are  called  optical 
doubles,  and  are  of  no  special  importance  as 
double  stars  in  astronomical  investigations 
after  it  has  been  fully  established  that  they 
have  no  physical  connection. 

True  double  stars  do  not  lie  near  each  other 
by  mere  chance.  They  are  held  together  by 
physical  bonds  which  keep  them  forever  re- 
volving around  each  other,  and  their  revolu- 
tions are  what  betray  to  us  the  relationship 
of  the  stars  taking  part  in  it.  Sometimes 
it  requires  many  years  to  determine  whether 
there  is  a  physical  connection  or  not.  For 
even  though  stars  may  be  moving  at  the 
rate  of  many  miles  a  second,  their  distance 
from  us  is  so  great  that  it  takes  a  very  long 
time  for  us  to  discover  any  motion  at  all. 
Hence,  a  star  that  requires  several  hundred 
years  to  complete  its  journey  in  its  orbit 
would  hardly  reveal  any  perceptible  motion 
in  the  lifetime  of  one  man.  A  convenience 
164 


DOUBLE    STARS 

it  would  indeed  be  to  the  modern  astronomer 
if  he  could  command  the  same  consideration 
as  the  old  historian  Berosus  says  was  given 
to  the  antediluvians  when  God  prolonged 
their  days  to  five  or  six  hundred  years  in 
order  to  give  them  time  to  complete  as- 
tronomical observations.  The  brevity  of 
life,  however,  does  not  stay  the  inquiring 
mind.  The  work  of  investigation  is  passed 
on  from  hand  to  hand  with  almost  as  much 
continuity  as  if  it  were  pursued  by  a  single 
man. 

Generally  speaking,  there  is  a  real  con- 
nection between  two  stars  when  they  remain 
in  the  same  relation  to  each  other  during  a 
long  series  of  years.  For  each  star  is  in 
motion  and  has  its  own,  or  what  we  call  its 
"proper,"  motion  in  the  sky.  If  its  com- 
panion has  the  same  motion,  and  the  two 
stars  thus  keep  together,  there  is  reason  to 
suppose  that  they  form  part  of  the  same 
system.  If  they  remain  together  and  yet 
change  their  relative  positions,  we  know  that 
they  are  circling  round  each  other  and  are 
undoubtedly  of  one  system.  But  sometimes 
in  their  revolutions  through  their  incredibly 
large  orbits  the  two  stars  are  enormously 
farther  apart  at  one  point  than  at  another 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

and  may  seem  to  be  receding  from  each  other. 
In  such  cases  it  requires  long  years  of  observa- 
tion to  determine  whether  each  is  going  its 
own  way  and  they  will  continue  to  recede,  or 
whether  they  are  bound  together  by  gravita- 
tion and  will  in  time  approach  each  other 
again. 

Sirius  and  its  companion  are  entirely  in- 
separable at  one  point  in  their  circuit  and  at 
another  can  be  separated  by  a  good  telescope. 
But  as  their  period  of  revolution  is  only  about 
fifty  years,  their  relation  was  soon  established 
after  the  smaller  star  was  once  seen  during 
one  of  its  periods  of  greatest  distance  from 
the  principal  component  of  the  system. 

Castor  and  its  more  distant  companion, 
on  the  other  hand,  can  always  be  seen  sep- 
arately by  the  aid  of  the  telescope.  But  it 
was  only  after  they  had  been  known  as  a 
double  star  for  more  than  a  hundred  years 
that  any  physical  association  was  suspected 
between  them.  It  came  about  then  by  the 
accidental  discovery  that  while  once  the 
prolongation  of  the  line  joining  Castor  and 
Pollux  would  run  through  Castor's  compan- 
ion, it  was  no  longer  so;  but  that  the  com- 
panion had  moved  quite  out  of  line  with 
Castor  and  Pollux,  showing  that  the  two 
166 


DOUBLE    STARS 

stars  must  be  in  revolution.  Their  period  of 
revolution  was  once  supposed  to  be  about 
four  or  five  hundred  years,  but  it  is  now 
supposed  to  be  somewhat  longer — probably 
about  a  thousand  years.  This  change  of 
opinion  as  to  the  length  of  Castor's  period  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  system  was 
first  discovered  the  two  stars  were  nearer  to- 
gether than  they  now  are  and  were,  con- 
sequently, moving  more  rapidly  in  their 
orbit.  Being  farther  apart  now,  they  exert 
less  influence  on  each  other  and  move  more 
slowly.  This  lessens  their  mean  rate  of 
speed  and  thus  lengthens  our  estimate  of 
their  period  of  revolution. 

Double  stars  that  are  not  mere  optical 
doubles,  but  are  proved  to  have  some  phys- 
ical connection,  and,  hence,  to  revolve  around 
some  common  centre,  are  known  as  binary 
stars,  or  binary  systems,  and  the  stars  com- 
posing such  a  double  star  are  spoken  of  as  its 
components.  Those  that  can  be  separated 
with  the  telescope  are  called  visual,  or  some- 
times telescopic,  binaries.  But  there  is  a 
class  of  binaries  that  cannot  be  separated 
even  with  the  strongest  telescope.  Their 
double  nature  is  made  known  to  us  by 
means  of  the  spectroscope,  and  they  are 
167 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

called  spectroscopic  binaries.  Their  discov- 
ery is  one  of  the  most  interesting  results  of 
the  use  of  the  spectroscope  in  astronomy. 

By  the  displacement  of  certain  lines  in  the 
spectrum  of  a  star  astronomers  are  able  to 
determine  the  swiftness  and  direction  of  its 
motion.  In  the  case  of  a  double  star  the 
components  revolve  around  each  other,  al- 
ternately approaching  and  receding  from  us. 
The  lines  of  their  spectra  indicate  these 
motions  and  betray  the  fact  that  they  are 
circling  around  in  an  orbit,  and  are,  hence, 
double  stars,  since  if  they  are  revolving  they 
must  be  revolving  around  something.  When 
the  two  stars  are  of  the  same  class  spectro- 
scopically,  they  will  each  have  the  same  kind 
of  spectrum  and  the  lines  of  their  spectra  will 
alternately  appear  double  and  single,  accord- 
ing as  the  stars  are  side  by  side  to  our  view 
or  in  the  same  line  of  sight  from  us.  When 
the  two  stars  composing  the  binary  are  so 
different  in  their  stage  of  development  that 
one  is  nearly  dark,  the  lines  of  the  spectrum 
of  the  bright  component  will  simply  oscillate 
back  and  forth,  for,  of  course,  a  star  that  does 
not  radiate  light  has  no  spectrum.  Mizar  is 
an  example  of  the  first  class  and  was  the  first 
star  to  be  identified  as  of  that  class,  this  oc- 
168 


DOUBLE    STARS 

curring  so  recently  as  1889.  Mizar  was  also 
the  first  star  discovered  to  be  a  double  star. 
Spica  is  an  example  of  the  second  class,  since 
its  companion  star  is  almost  non-luminous 
and  shows  itself  only  by  the  wavering  lines 
of  Spica 's  spectrum.  Capella  is  of  a  class 
between  the  two,  where  the  spectra  of  both 
components  can  be  seen,  though  they  may 
be  slightly  different  through  one  star  being 
in  a  more  advanced  stage  of  evolution  than 
the  other. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury such  a  thing  as  a  double  star  was  un- 
known. In  1610  Galileo  first  used  his  tele- 
scope, by  which  he  discovered  the  moons  of 
Jupiter.  For  forty  years  after  that  the  heav- 
ens were  scanned  with  various  telescopes  more 
or  less  rude  in  construction,  but  not  once 
did  it  occur  that  a  star  which  looked  single  to 
the  naked  eye  became  known  to  be  double 
as  viewed  through  a  telescope.  Finally,  in 
1650,  Mizar  was  discovered  to  be  composed  of 
two  stars.  The  idea  once  entertained,  double 
stars  became  an  object  of  special  quest,  and 
many  others  were  discovered  in  quick  suc- 
cession, among  them  Alpha  Centauri  and  the 
famous  Theta  Orionis,  the  star  in  the  nebula 
in  the  sword  of  Orion,  which  was  discovered 
169 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

as  early  as  1689  to  be  not  only  double,  but 
quadruple.  But  no  one  dreamed  that  double 
stars  were  anything  more  than  optical 
doubles.  It  was  supposed  that  by  mere 
chance  they  both  lay  in  the  same  line  of 
vision  from  us,  against  the  same  background 
of  black  space,  but  one  of  them  necessarily 
much  farther  away  than  the  other. 

More  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  first 
double  star  was  discovered,  and  so  recently 
as  about  the  time  of  our  Revolutionary  War, 
a  systematic  search  for  double  stars  was  be- 
gun. In  less  than  two  years  thirty-three 
stars  were  added  to  the  number  already 
known.  The  astronomer  Herschel  then  set 
about  making  a  special  study  of  double  stars, 
in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  able  to  learn 
something  about  their  distance.  The  idea 
that  one  was  far  behind  the  other  in  our  line 
of  sight  at  least  differentiated  them  as  to 
distance  and  suggested  the  thought  that  it 
might  be  possible  to  discover  some  shifting  of 
the  nearer  star  in  its  relation  to  the  farther 
one.  The  unexpected  happened  again,  and  a 
new  scientific  truth  was  discovered  almost, 
as  it  seemed,  by  accident.  The  stars  were 
revolving  around  each  other!  Another  of 
nature's  secret  doors  had  been  burst  open  by 
170 


DOUBLE    STARS 

the  continuous  pressure  upon  it  of  zealous, 
untiring  workers  while  chiselling  away  one 
fastening  after  another. 

By  1802  it  was  proved  beyond  a  doubt 
that  many  of  the  so-called  double  stars  were 
truly  double — twin  suns  swinging  around  a 
common  centre  of  gravity :  millions  of  miles 
apart,  no  doubt ;  but  held  by  that  mysterious 
force  that  keeps  our  own  system  together,  in 
bonds  that  can  never  be  loosened. 

Here  was  a  field  for  endless  work  among 
astronomers,  and  the  wildest  fancy  could 
scarcely  predict  too  much  from  it  in  the  way 
of  results.  Here  was  proof,  and  our  only 
proof,  that  Newton's  law  of  gravitation  is 
universal  and  not  peculiar  to  the  solar  system. 
It  holds  the  great  stars  in  their  courses  as 
certainly  as  it  binds  our  little  planet  and  its 
satellite.  Here  was  certain  information  that 
there  were  many  other  systems  like  ours  in 
the  universe:  a  vast  central  orb  holding 
smaller  ones  by  invisible  chains  and  swinging 
them  around  it  as  a  boy  sometimes  swings  a 
pot  of  burning  coals  suspended  on  a  string. 

Sometimes  two  fiery  suns  of  almost  equal 

size   are  circling   around  each  other.     They 

may   each   be   the   centre   of   a   planetary 

system  and  so  far  apart  that  they  show  as 

171 


THE   FRIENDLY    STARS 

mere  stars  to  each  other.  That  they  are  so 
far  apart,  we  know  in  some  cases;  and  we 
even  know  that  in  some  cases  dark  bodies  are 
revolving  around  them.  Why  may  it  not 
be  that  many  others  are  thus  far  apart  and 
accompanied  by  dark  bodies  which  we  have 
as  yet  no  means  of  discovering?  And  why 
may  it  not  be  that  our  sun  has  a  far  distant 
companion  that  holds  it  in  a  vast  orbit  over 
which  it  is  travelling  in  its  mysterious  flight 
through  space,  which  we  know  it  is  making 
but  know  not  why  ?  There  is  no  calculating 
on  what  a  wave  of  progress  in  astronomical 
learning  the  discovery  of  binary  systems 
among  the  stars  has  launched  us. 

As  soon  as  the  fact  that  there  was  a 
physical  connection  between  the  components 
of  some  of  the  double  stars  was  established, 
many  workers  began  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  observation  of  such  stars,  sorting  out 
and  discarding  the  mere  optical  doubles, 
watching  and  recording  the  movements  of 
those  which  proved  to  be  real  binary  systems, 
and  discovering  new  ones  all  the  time.  For 
nearly  ninety  years  the  work  was  carried  on 
by  means  of  the  telescope,  and  more  and  more 
pairs  came  into  view  as  larger  and  larger 
telescopes  came  into  use.  It  was  then  found 
172 


DOUBLE    STARS 

that  more  than  one-twentieth  of  all  the  stars 
as  bright  as  the  eighth  magnitude  were  double 
stars  as  seen  in  the  large  telescopes.  They 
were  not,  of  course,  all  true  binary  systems, 
but  many  of  them  were.  Then,  just  eleven 
years  before  the  nineteenth  century  closed, 
came  the  discovery  that  binaries  which  even 
the  strongest  telescope  would  fail  to  separate 
could  make  themselves  known  through  the 
spectroscope  in  the  manner  already  described, 
and  the  field  of  discovery  and  investigation 
was  still  further  enlarged. 

Many  thousand  binary  systems  are  now 
known  to  exist.  About  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  these  are  spectroscopic  binaries,  and 
new  pairs  are  being  rapidly,  almost  daily, 
revealed.  From  the  proportion  of  binaries 
in  a  given  number  of  stars  examined,  it  has 
been  estimated  that  one  out  of  every  five 
or  six  stars  is  probably  a  system  of  stars, 
and  it  may  yet  develop  that  no  star  is 
thrown  out  into  cold  space  entirely  alone. 
If  they  are  not  twin  suns  shining  by  their 
own  light,  it  is  probable  each  one  is  at  least 
attended  by  some  dark  body,  or  planet,  like 
the  ones  circling  about  our  sun.  Such  sys- 
tems as  ours  is  now  supposed  to  be,  however, 
are  in  the  minority,  most  of  the  binary  stars 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

thus  far  discovered  being  either  double  suns 
or  having  a  dark  companion  of  such  size  as 
to  eclipse  them  more  or  less  in  some  part  of 
their  orbit. 

Nearly  a  hundred  of  the  binary  systems 
discovered  have  proved  to  be  multiple  sys- 
tems composed  of  anywhere  from  three  to 
seven  stars.  Polaris  is  a  triple  star,  Mizar 
a  quadruple,  Theta  Orionis  divides  into  six 
bright  stars,  and  Epsilon  Lyrae  is  composed 
of  seven.  From  the  frequency  with  which 
this  happens,  it  is  hardly  surprising  to  find 
almost  any  binary  resolve  itself  on  further 
observation  into  a  system  of  several  stars. 
Many  binaries  that  can  be  seen  with  a  tele- 
scope have  been  shown  by  the  spectroscope 
to  have  both  components  double,  thus  mak- 
ing a  quadruple  system;  and  at  least  one 
star  (Beta  Aurigae)  has  made  itself  known 
as  a  quaternary  system  by  means  of  the 
spectroscope  alone. 

The  orbits  of  more  than  fifty  systems  have 
been  computed,  showing  periods  of  revolu- 
tion from  less  than  two  days  to  more  than  a 
thousand  years  in  length.  The  far-distant 
visual  couples  swing  slowly  and  majestically 
around  their  common  centre,  while  the  close 
companions  whirl  with  almost  unthinkable 
174 


DOUBLE    STARS 

rapidity  through  their  allotted  orbits,  for 
the  shorter  the  distance  between  two  stars 
the  greater  gravitational  force  they  exert 
upon  each  other  and  the  more  swiftly  they 
compel  each  other  to  rotate. 

The  fastest  revolving  couples  are,  of  course, 
spectroscopic  binaries,  many  of  which  are  so 
close  together  as  to  be  all  but  in  contact.  In 
proportion  to  the  number  of  each,  the  orbits 
of  more  spectroscopic  binaries  have  been 
determined  than  of  the  visual  systems;  for 
telescopic  doubles  must  be  observed  until  it 
is  shown  that  they  either  are  or  are  not  in 
revolution,  while  spectroscopic  systems  are 
discovered  because  they  are  in  revolution. 

The  shortest  period  known  for  a  spectro- 
scopic binary  is  almost  seven  hours,  and 
until  recently  the  shortest  period  found  for 
a  visual  binary  was  eleven  years.  But  a 
fourth  magnitude  star  about  half-way  be- 
tween Altair  and  the  square  of  Pegasus, 
which  the  telescope  shows  to  be  double,  is 
now  supposed  to  have  a  period  of  only  five 
years  —  the  shortest  yet  discovered  for  a 
visual  binary. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  longest 
period  found  that  has  reasonable  claims  to 
accuracy  is  that  of  another  fourth  magni- 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

tude  star  in  the  same  region  of  the  heavens. 
It  is  estimated  to  be  nearly  sixteen  hundred 
years;  but  it  will  require  several  hundred 
years  of  observation  to  fully  verify  this  es- 
timate. The  longest  period  that  has  been 
computed  and  fully  authenticated  is  about 
four  hundred  years,  though  much  longer 
periods  are  known  to  be  approximately 
correct. 

The  discovery  of  binaries,  or  systems,  of 
stars  has  a  most  important  influence  in  the 
progress  of  astronomy.  In  establishing  the 
universality  of  the  law  of  gravitation  it  opens 
the  way  to  knowledge  of  various  sorts  which 
would  otherwise  be  unobtainable.  When 
the  distance  of  a  pair  of  stars  is  known  and 
the  time  that  they  require  to  revolve  about 
each  other,  we  secure  data  for  determining 
the  size  of  their  orbit,  their  mass,  their  real 
light-giving  power,  and  their  rate  of  speed. 
In  addition  to  this,  if  we  learn  from  the 
spectroscope  the  chemical  composition  of 
the  stars,  it  would  seem  as  if  their  whole 
story  was  nearly  within  our  grasp. 


XXI 

THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

r~PHERE  is  a  general  impression  that 
1  knowing  the  stars  means  knowing  the 
constellations;  and  with  this  idea  in  their 
minds  it  is  no  wonder  that  many  persons 
grow  discouraged  at  the  very  outset  in  their 
endeavors  to  make  some  acquaintance  with 
the  stars.  In  themselves,  in  fact,  and  as  a 
whole,  the  constellations  are  not  as  interest- 
ing as  the  individual  stars.  Most  of  them 
do  not  much  resemble  the  thing  for  which 
they  are  named,  and  hence  are  mere  ab- 
stractions bounded  by  certain  imaginary  and 
by  no  means  definite  lines.  Many  of  them 
overlap  each  other.  The  tip  of  one  of  the 
horns  of  Taurus  is  in  Auriga ;  Andromeda  and 
Pegasus  depend  upon  the  same  star  to  com- 
plete their  outline;  and  in  some  other  cases 
a  star  is  assigned  to  two  constellations,  or 
families,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  tell  of  which 
one  it  is  the  step-child. 
177 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

To  enjoy  the  constellations  one  must  be 
satisfied  not  to  expect  too  much  of  them. 
The  splendid  ones  that  mark  a  certain  sec- 
tion of  the  skies  to  us,  as  well  as  the  small 
and  beautiful  ones  that  remind  us  by  their 
presence  that  a  certain  season  has  arrived, 
yield  their  fullest  pleasure  when  we  take 
them  as  we  do  our  human  friends — for  what 
they  give  us,  without  any  severe  exactions  as 
to  consistency  or  any  desire  to  make  them 
fit  a  preconceived  model.  The  tracing  of 
the  various  figures  represented  by  the  con- 
stellations was  not  the  working  out  of  an 
exact  science,  but  it  was  an  aesthetic  occupa- 
tion, and  the  imagination  must  be  used  to 
see,  as  the  ancient  star  -  gazers  did,  the 
heroes,  kings,  and  queens,  and  birds  and 
dragons  fixed  on  the  purple  walls  of  the  sky. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  one  should  be  able 
to  trace  all  the  constellations  in  order  to 
have  a  friendly  and  familiar  acquaintance 
with  all  the  important  naked  -  eye  stars. 
Still  one  can  hardly  be  said  to  know  the 
aspect  of  the  heavens  until  he  knows  the 
principal  constellations — the  ones  that  took 
shape  in  the  minds  of  the  shepherds,  sailors, 
and  other  out- door  people  in  the  days  when 
imagination  fashioned  them  and  scientific 
178 


THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

order  was  of  less  import  than  it  is  to-day. 
These  early  forms  include  the  twelve  con- 
stellations of  the  zodiac,  for  instance,  which 
mark  the  path  of  the  sun  and  the  moon  and 
the  planets  across  the  heavens;  the  con- 
spicuously beautiful  constellations,  like  Orion, 
Lyra,  Leo,  Scorpius,  and  others;  and  the 
familiar  ones  forever  circling  around  the 
north  pole,  and  always  visible  to  us,  like 
Draco,  Cassiopeia,  and  the  two  bears. 

Moreover,  however  indifferent  one  may 
be  to  the  science  of  astronomy,  an  intelligent 
person  can  hardly  fail  to  feel  a  little  uncom- 
fortable when  he  has  so  large  a  body  of 
natural  beauty  hanging  over  him  in  full  view 
half  of  his  life  and  yet  has  no  familiarity 
with  it.  It  was  some  feeling  of  this  kind, 
no  doubt,  that  led  Thomas  Carlyle  to  cry, 
"Why  did  not  somebody  teach  me  the  con- 
stellations and  make  me  at  home  in  the 
starry  heavens,  which  are  always  overhead, 
and  which  I  don't  half  know  to  this  day?" 

Of  the  ancient  constellations  there  are 
about  forty-eight.  They  are  all  outlined 
by  stars  that  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye 
and  are  as  open  to  our  vision  as  the  clouds, 
the  trees,  and  the  hills.  In  them  are  con- 
tained all  the  brightest  stars,  and  there  is  no 
179 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

conspicuous  part  of  the  heavens  that  is  not 
covered  by  them.  Once  we  are  familiar 
with  them,  the  whole  sky  becomes  glorified 
to  us  beyond  Achilles'  shield,  which  He- 
phaistos  fashioned  and  wrought  thereon  ' '  the 
heavens,  and  the  sea,  and  the  unwearying 
sun,  and  the  moon  waxing  to  the  full,  and 
the  signs  every  one  wherewith  the  heavens  are 
crowned,  Pleiades,  Hyades,  and  Orion's  might, 
and  the  Bear  that  men  also  call  the  Wain, 
her  that  turneth  in  her  place  and  watcheth 
Orion,  and  alone  hath  no  part  in  the  baths  of 
Ocean/' 

There  are  also  about  thirty  other  con- 
stellations, of  modern  origin  and  more  or 
less  recognized  by  astronomers.  Most  of 
them  are  among  the  southern  stars  and  are 
too  far  south  to  come  within  our  view;  for 
the  old  astronomers  were  so  situated  geo- 
graphically that  they  were  not  familiar  with 
the  skies  of  the  far  south.  The  other  mod- 
ern constellations  are  not  of  much  interest 
or  importance,  being  in  the  main  composed 
of  a  few  inconspicuous  stars  occupying  stray 
spots  in  the  sky  not  covered  by  the  original 
constellations,  and  as  often  as  not  named 
for  mathematical  instruments,  without  even 
the  compensating  advantage  of  resembling 
180 


THE    CONSTELLATIONS 

any  more  than  the  older  constellations  do 
the  objects  for  which  they  were  named. 

Fourteen  of  the  principal  constellations 
have  already  been  described  more  or  less 
fully  in  introducing  the  first  magnitude 
stars.  With  these  as  connecting  links  it  will 
be  easy  to  trace  the  others. 


XXII 

THE   LITTLE   BEAR   AND   POLARIS 

THERE  are  six  well-defined  constella- 
tions that  are  always  above  the  horizon 
in  our  latitude.  We  can  see  them  on  any 
clear  night  from  sundown  to  dawn.  They 
are  all  in  the  north  and  revolve  slowly  in  a 
small  circle  around  the  north  pole  once  every 
twenty-four  hours.  In  one  sense  the  most 
important  of  these  six  constellations  is  Ursa 
Minor,  or  the  Little  Bear.  The  reason  of  its 
importance  is  that  the  north  pole  lies  within 
its  boundaries. 

The  north  pole  is  nothing  more  than  the 
point  where  the  imaginary  polar  axis  of  the 
earth  would  touch  the  sky  if  it  were  extended 
that  far.  But  since  the  earth  revolves  on 
its  axis,  the  entire  heavens  seem  to  us  to 
revolve  around  its  extension;  so  the  north 
pole  is  to  our  view  the  centre  of  the  universe 
and  the  most  important  point  in  the  skies. 
182 


*c 
cluster  nebula  variable 


THE  CONSTELLATIONS  AROUND  THE  POLE 


THE    LITTLE    BEAR    AND    POLARIS 

Of  all  the  stars  that  can  be  seen  by  the 
naked  eye  the  one  nearest  to  the  north  pole 
is  Polaris,  or  Alpha  Ursae  Minoris.  It  is 
called  the  Pole  Star,  or  the  North  Star,  and 
is  ordinarily  regarded  as  marking  the  exact 
point  of  the  north  pole.  It  is,  in  truth,  a  de- 
gree and  a  quarter  from  the  polar  point  and 
revolves  around  it  each  twenty-four  hours 
in  a  little  circle  two  and  a  half  degrees  in 
diameter.  A  diameter  of  two  and  a  half 
degrees  is  nearly  five  times  the  apparent 
diameter  of  the  moon,  which  is  only  a  little 
more  than  half  a  degree.  But  the  moon,  by 
reason  of  its  brilliancy,  seems  to  cover  more 
space  on  the  sky  than  it  really  does,  so  we 
must  make  allowance  for  that  fact  in  such  a 
comparison. 

If  one  has  a  desire  to  find  the  exact  loca- 
tion of  the  pole,  it  may  be  done  by  drawing 
a  line  from  Polaris  to  Mizar,  the  middle  star 
in  the  handle  of  the  Great  Dipper.  Mizar 
is  on  the  other  side  of  the  pole  from  Polaris 
and  almost  exactly  opposite;  and  the  line 
will  pass  through  the  pole,  which  lies  one 
and  a  quarter  degrees  from  Polaris. 

Within  the  little  circle  that  Polaris  makes 
around  the  pole  are  many  stars  that  are  not 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  As  many  as  eighty 
183 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

have  been  seen  through  the  telescope,  while 
as  many  as  two  hundred  have  been  seen 
on  the  photographic  plates.  The  star  near- 
est the  pole  is  a  small  telescopic  star  of  the 
ninth  magnitude.  It  is  only  two  minutes, 
or  one-thirtieth  of  a  degree,  from  the  exact 
polar  point. 

Owing  to  what  is  known  as  the  precession 
of  the  equinoxes,  the  pole  does  not  always 
point  to  the  same  spot  in  the  sky.  It  de- 
scribes a  little  circle  of  its  own  once  in  every 
twenty-five  thousand  years,  and  as  it  jour- 
neys it  confers  the  distinction  of  being  the 
Pole  Star  upon  several  different  stars.  In 
about  two  hundred  years  from  now  it  will 
approach  our  present  North  Star,  Polaris, 
to  within  a  little  less  than  half  a  degree. 
The  circle  which  Polaris  will  then  make 
around  the  pole  will  have  a  diameter  of  about 
fifty-three  minutes,  which  is  still  something 
larger  than  the  diameter  of  the  moon. 
After  that,  the  pole  will  begin  to  move  away 
from  Polaris,  and  in  something  less  than 
twelve  thousand  years  will  be  within  five 
degrees  of  the  beautiful  Vega,  and  she  will 
be  our  Pole  Star  for  the  next  three  thousand 
years.  Then  the  pole  will  slowly  recede  from 
Vega,  and  in  another  twelve  thousand  years 
184 


THE    LITTLE    BEAR    AND    POLARIS 

Polaris  will  again  become  the  Pole  Star.  So, 
in  spite  of  all  these  changes,  each  generation 
during  these  thousands  of  years  will  have  its 
Pole  Star  in  whose  "  true-fixed  and  resting 
quality ' '  it  can  rely  as  absolutely  as  we  now 
do  on  Polaris.  For  the  change  takes  place 
so  gradually  that  a  single  generation  is  not 
conscious  of  it. 

Polaris  is  not  only  the  centre  of  all  the 
stellar  company,  but  also  of  a  little  circling 
system  of  its  own.  It  has  a  companion  of 
about  the  ninth  magnitude,  and  has  also  two 
almost  dark  companions  revolving  around 
it,  which  were  discovered  by  means  of  the 
spectroscope.  It  is,  therefore,  a  telescopic 
double,  and  the  brightest  component  of  the 
double  star  is  a  spectroscopic  triple.  So  the 
star  we  see  as  one  is  really  four.  It  is  so  far 
distant  that  its  light  does  not  reach  us  for 
nearly  forty-five  years.  If  it  were  suddenly 
blotted  out  of  existence  a  whole  generation 
of  men  might  guide  their  ships  by  its  light 
after  the  star  itself  had  gone. 

Polaris  is  the  brightest  star  in  the  con- 
stellation of  Ursa  Minor,  or  the  Little  Bear. 
Its  Greek  letter  name  is  Alpha  Ursse  Minoris. 
It  was  also  called  in  former  times  Cynosura, 
meaning  the  end  of  the  dog's  tail.  It  is  at 
185 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

the  end  of  the  tail  of  the  Little  Bear:  and 
there  is  some  reason  to  think  that  the  Little 
Bear  was  once  thought  to  be  a  dog  instead 


tvT PoJar/S 


\ 
\ 


&.. 


THE    LITTLE    DIPPER 

of  a  bear.     Our  word  "  cynosure"  gets  its 
meaning  from  Polaris,  which  is  the  centre  of 
attraction  in  the  heavens. 
186 


THE    LITTLE    BEAR    AND    POLARIS 

In  the  Little  Bear,  as  in  the  Great  Bear, 
the  distinctive  feature  of  the  constellation  is 
the  Dipper.  It  is  formed  of  seven  stars  and 
somewhat  resembles  the  Great  Dipper:  but 
its  handle  is  curved  towards,  rather  than  away 
from,  the  bowl,  which  gives  it  something 
more  the  appearance  of  a  saucepan  than  of 
a  dipper. 

The  only  other  stars  of  any  importance 
in  the  constellation  are  the  two  outer  stars 
of  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper.  The  brightest 
one  is  a  second  magnitude  star,  Beta  Ursae 
Minoris,  sometimes  called  Kochab.  The  oth- 
er is  Gamma  Ursae  Minoris,  a  third  magni- 
tude star.  They  correspond  in  position  to 
the  pointers  in  the  Great  Dipper,  and  are 
sometimes  called  the  "  guardians  of  the 
pole." 


XXIII 

THE  GREAT  BEAR  AND   THE   SEVEN   STARS   OF 
THE   DIPPER 

UNLIKE  the  Little  Bear,  the  Great  Bear 
can  be  traced  in  the  heavens  with 
reasonable  accuracy.  It  looks  rather  more 
like  a  chubby  hobby-horse  than  a  bear,  and 
its  long  tail  seems  somewhat  out  of  place. 
Still  one  can  distinctly  follow  the  outlines  of 
a  clumsily  shaped  four-legged  animal,  which, 
perhaps,  is  as  appropriately  called  a  bear  as 
anything  else. 

The  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  con- 
stellation is  the  Great  Dipper.  The  handle 
of  the  Dipper  is  the  tail  of  the  Bear,  and  the 
four  stars  forming  the  bowl  lie  in  the  hind 
part  of  the  body.  The  tip  of  the  Bear's  nose 
is  marked  by  a  star  lying  about  twenty-five 
degrees  from  the  root  of  the  tail,  and  a  line 
from  the  nose  through  the  two  stars  form- 
ing the  top  of  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper  mark 
188 


THE  SEVEN  STARS  OF  THE  DIPPER 

the  back  of  the  Bear.  Its  right  fore -foot 
is  indicated  by  two  stars  about  fifteen 
degrees  south  of  its  nose.  The  stars  con- 
necting this  foot  with  the  body  show  a 
prancing,  double-jointed  sort  of  a  leg.  Similar 
pairs  of  stars  indicate  the  position  of  the 
other  three  feet,  which  can  be  appropriate- 
ly connected  with  the  body  without  much 
trouble,  the  whole  forming  an  animal  so 
huge  that  it  might  well  give  over  its  watch 
on  Orion,  since  even  so  mighty  a  hunter 
would  scarcely  attack  it. 

Ursa  Major  is  a  remarkable  constellation, 
not  only  because  it  is  large  and  beautiful 
and  always  visible,  but  also  because  it  con- 
tains so  many  things  that  are  in  their  kind 
the  most  noted  in  the  heavens.  In  it  are 
situated  the  star  with  the  fastest  proper 
motion  yet  observed  among  all  the  northern 
stars  (Groombridge  1830),  and  the  one  that 
of  all  the  northern  stars  is  nearest  to  us 
(Lalande  21,185).  It  contains  also  the  first 
double  star  discovered  with  a  telescope  and 
the  first  binary  system  discovered  by  the 
spectroscope.  Because  of  its  rapid  motion, 
Groombridge  1830  was  long  known  as  the 
"runaway  star."  Its  speed  is  so  great  that 
it  would  show  a  displacement  equal  to  about 
13  189 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

one-third  of  the  apparent  diameter  of  the 
moon  in  a  hundred  years.  A  southern  star 
has  been  discovered  that  moves  still  faster  ; 
but  it  is  not  visible  in  our  latitude. 

Ursa  Major  would  be  remarkable,  how- 
ever, if  its  only  distinction  was  that  of  in- 
cluding the  seven  bright  stars  of  the  Dipper, 
which  are  well  worth  a  closer  acquaintance, 
on  account  of  their  many  points  of  individual 
interest  and  beauty  as  well  as  their  special 
interest  as  a  group.  With  the  exception  of 
Orion,  there  is  no  other  constellation  with 
so  many  bright  stars  in  so  close  a  group. 
Alioth,  the  third  star  from  the  end  of  the 
handle,  is  the  brightest  of  them,  and  barely 
escapes  being  a  first  magnitude  star.  All  the 
others  are  of  the  second  magnitude  except 


THE    SEVEN    STARS    OF    THE    DIPPER 

Megrez,  which  lies  at  the  point  where  the 
handle  joins  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper.  This 
is  a  third  magnitude  star. 

After  the  first  magnitude  stars,  there  are 
190 


THE  SEVEN  STARS  OF  THE  DIPPER 

only  two  stars  seen  in  our  latitude  that  are 
brighter  than  Alioth.  One  of  these  is  Castor, 
one  of  the  twins,  and  the  other  is  Adara,  a 
bright  star  in  the  constellation  Canis  Major, 
or  the  Great  Dog,  the  constellation  of  which 
Sirius  is  the  brightest  star.  Alioth 's  magni- 
tude is  1.68,  and  Castor's  is  1.58,  so  that 
Alioth  is  only  one-tenth  of  a  magnitude  less 
bright  than  Castor.  It  is  five  and  a  half 
degrees  from  Megrez,  or  Delta,  the  faintest 
star  of  the  seven,  and  is  four  and  a  half  de- 
grees from  Zeta,  or  Mizar.  The  name  Alioth 
means  the  "tail  sheep." 

Alcaid,  the  star  at  the  end  of  the  handle 
of  the  Dipper,  is  the  second  in  order  of 
brightness  in  the  group,  though  no  longer 
ago  than  1847  it  was  said  by  Herschel  to  be 
the  brightest.  It  is  thought  by  some  as- 
tronomers to  have  diminished  in  brightness 
within  the  last  century.  The  difference  in 
brilliancy  between  Alcaid  and  Alioth  is 
hardly  discernible  by  the  ordinary  eye.  The 
two  are  rated  in  the  Harvard  catalogue  as  of 
magnitudes  1.68  and  1.91,  making  Alioth 
the  brighter  by  a  little  more  than  two-tenths 
of  a  magnitude.  Alcaid  is  a  Sirian  star  and 
is  so  far  distant  that  its  parallax  has  never 
been  measured  with  any  certainty.  It  is 
191 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  about  sixteen 
miles  a  second.  Its  name  means  "  the  chief. " 
The  star  is  perhaps  more  frequently  called 
Benetnasch.  It  is  seven  degrees  from  Mizar, 
the  star  next  to  it  in  the  handle  of  the  Dipper, 
and  twenty-six  from  Dubhe. 

Dubhe,  or  Alpha  Ursae  Majoris,  is  the 
pointer  nearest  the  pole.  The  name  means 
the  " she-bear."  Dubhe  lies  in  the  back  of 
the  Great  Bear,  ten  degrees  from  the  star  that 
begins  the  tail  of  the  Bear.  It  is  the  third  in 
order  of  brightness  in  the  constellation,  and 
is  rated  by  Prof.  Pickering  as  only  four  one- 
hundredths  of  a  magnitude  less  bright  than 
Alcaid.  It  is  the  only  one  of  the  stars  of  the 
Dipper  that  is  solar  in  its  type,  and  hence  in 
about  the  same  stage  of  development  as 
Capella  and  the  sun.  Like  others  of  its 
class,  it  is  yellow  in  color  and  comparatively 
steady  in  its  shining.  While  it  is  of  the  same 
class  as  Capella,  it  is  probably  rather  more 
advanced,  for  it  seems  to  change  somewhat 
in  color  about  once  in  fifty-four  and  a  half 
days  and  become  a  little  redder  than  or- 
dinary. There  is  some  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  these  changes,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
period  of  change  is  not  so  regular  as  has  been 
supposed.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the 
192 


THE  SEVEN  STARS  OF  THE  DIPPER 

star  seems  redder  at  some  times  than  at  oth- 
ers even  to  the  naked  eye. 

Dubhe  is  a  binary,  or  spectroscopic  double 
star.  Its  smaller  companion  is  about  nine 
magnitudes  fainter  than  the  larger  star, 
being  of  the  eleventh  magnitude.  This 
makes  a  vast  difference  in  the  brilliancy 
of  the  two  stars,  the  brighter  one  being 
thirty-eight  hundred  times  brighter  than  the 
other.  Dubhe  is  a  little  more  than  twenty- 
eight  degrees  from  Polaris ;  ten  degrees  from 
Megrez,  the  other  star  at  the  top  of  the  bowl 
of  the  Dipper;  twenty-six  degrees  from 
Alcaid,  the  star  at  the  end  of  the  handle,  and 
a  trifle  over  five  degrees  from  the  other  point- 
er. It  is  approaching  us  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
miles  a  second. 

The  other  pointer  is  Merak,  or  Beta  Ursae 
Majoris.  It  is  fifth  in  point  of  brightness  in 
the  constellation,  and  is  a  very  beautiful 
white  star  with  a  greenish  tinge.  It  is  a 
Sirian  star  as  to  its  development,  and  thus 
is  one  of  the  youthful  company  of  fair  stars 
like  Vega  and  Deneb.  It  is  approaching  us 
at  the  rate  of  about  eighteen  miles  a  second. 

Merak  is  eight  degrees  from  the  other 
star  at  the  bottom  of  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper, 
which  is  Phecda,  or  Gamma  Ursae  Majoris. 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

This  is  also  a  Sirian  star,  but,  unlike  most  of 
its  class,  it  is  tinged  with  yellow.  It  is  sixth 
in  order  of  brilliancy,  its  magnitude  being 
2.54.  It  is  approaching  the  earth  at  the 
rate  of  16.6  miles  a  second. 

From  Phecda  it  is  four  and  a  half  degrees 
to  Megrez,  or  Delta  Ursae  Majoris,  the  faintest 
star  of  the  seven  bright  ones  in  the  Dipper. 
Its  magnitude  is  3.44.  It  is  thought  that 
Megrez,  too,  may  be  variable  in  brilliancy 
and  that  it  has  lost  some  of  its  brightness 
within  the  last  century;  but  this  is  not  cer- 
tain. It  also  is  of  the  Sirian  type;  but,  like 
Phecda,  it  is  slightly  tinged  with  yellow. 
Its  name  means  "the  root  of  the  tail,"  which 
describes  its  situation  in  the  Great  Bear.  It 
is  the  star  that  joins  the  handle  to  the  bowl 
in  the  Dipper.  It  is  five  and  a  half  degrees 
from  Alioth,  the  brightest  of  the  seven,  and 
is  thirty-two  and  a  quarter  degrees  from  the 
pole. 

The  most  variously  interesting  of  all  the 
stars  of  the  Great  Dipper  is  Mizar,  or  Zeta 
Ursae  Majoris,  the  star  next  to  the  one  -at  the 
end  of  the  handle.  It  is  fourth  in  order  of 
brightness  among  the  seven,  its  magnitude 
being  2.09,  almost  an  exact  second  magni- 
tude star.  It  is  one  of  the  stars  that  are  in 
194 


THE  SEVEN  STARS  OF  THE  DIPPER 

an  early  stage  of  development — that  is,  the 
Sirian  class.  Its  parallax  has  never  been 
found ;  but  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  very  far 
distant  stars,  and  its  light  does  not  come  to 
us  in  less  than  a  hundred  years,  and  probably 
requires  a  much  longer  time  than  that. 

Mizar  can  always  be  known  by  its  having 
a  tiny  companion  so  near  it  as  to  be  some- 
times not  easy  to  see.  Its  name,  Alcor, 
means  "the  near  one."  It  was  formerly 
known  as  "the  test,"  because  it  was  sup- 
posed to  test  the  eyesight  to  see  it.  It  is 
really  not  so  difficult  to  see,  however,  for 
it  is  only  a  fourth  magnitude  star  and  is 
separated  from  Mizar  a  distance  equal  to 
almost  one-third  of  the  apparent  diameter 
of  the  moon.  The  greater  light  of  Mizar 
is  what  makes  it  seem  so  obscure.  When 
Alcor  is  once  known,  it  never  fails  to  attract, 
for  it  is  a  peculiarly  beautiful  little  star,  very 
white  and  very  piercing  in  its  brightness. 
It  is  thought  probable  that  Mizar  and  Alcor 
revolve  about  each  other. 

But  Mizar  has  other  stars  nearer  it  than 
Alcor.  It  is  the  centre  of  a  great  system  of 
stars.  It  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  double  star  discovered  by  the  telescope, 
a  discovery  made  as  long  ago  as  1650.  When 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

the  spectroscope  came  into  use,  Mizar  was 
again  the  first  to  open  up  a  new  line  of  dis- 
covery, being  the  first  star  discovered  by  the 
spectroscope  to  be  a  binary.  The  larger 
of  the  two  stars  into  which  it  was  separated  by 
the  telescope  was  shown  by  the  spectroscope 
to  be  also  double.  So  the  star  as  we  see  it 
is  really  three  stars  all  united  into  one 
system.  The  pair  of  stars  that  require  a 
spectroscope  to  separate  them  revolve  around 
each  other  in  a  little  more  than  twenty  days 
and  radiate  nearly  forty  times  as  much  light 
as  the  sun. 

In  England  the  Dipper  is  often  called  the 
Plough  and  sometimes  Charles's  Wain,  or 
simply  the  Wagon.  All  of  its  stars  except 
Dubhe  and  Alcaid  have  been  found  to  be 
moving  through  space  in  the  same  direction 
and  at  about  the  same  rate  of  speed,  which 
indicates  that  they  may  all  be  of  one  system, 
or,  at  least,  of  a  common  origin,  and  thus 
be  associated  in  reality  as  well  as  to  our  view. 
Dubhe  and  Alcaid  are  moving  in  an  almost 
opposite  direction  from  the  other  five  stars, 
so  that  in  the  course  of  centuries  the  Dipper 
will  be  somewhat  misshapen. 


XXIV 

CASSIOPEIA,    CEPHEUS,    AND   THE    DRAGON 

/CASSIOPEIA  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the 
> — J  pole  from.  Ursa  Major  and  almost  direct- 
ly opposite  the  Dipper.  Its  chief  naked-eye 
stars,  seven  in  number,  form  a  figure  some- 
what resembling  a  chair  in  shape.  They 
are  nearly  as  conspicuous  among  the  circum- 
polar  stars  as  the  Dipper  and  are  about  the 
same  distance  from  the  pole. 

On  account  of  the  faintness  of  the  little 
star  Kappa  (K),  on  the  front  edge  of  the 
seat  of  the  chair,  some  persons  leave  it  out 
of  consideration  and  fancy  the  remaining 
stars  outline  a  somewhat  distorted  "W. " 

Gamma  (y)  Cassiopeias  is  at  present  the 
brightest  star  in  the  constellation,  and  is  of 
the  second  magitude  (2.25).  Beta,  also  of 
the  second  magnitude  (2.42),  is  the  next 
brightest,  and  Alpha  is  but  a  shade  less  bright. 
Twenty  years  ago  Alpha  was  rated  the  bright- 
197 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

est,  and  on  account  of  its  change  in  brilliancy 
it  is  now  thought  to  be  a  variable  star. 
Delta  (8),  the  first  star  in  the  back  of  the 
chair,  is  also  of  the  second  magnitude  (2.8). 


\ 

\ 


V 

\ 

\ 

\ 


CASSIOPEIA 


Epsilon  (e),  at  the  top  of  the  back,  is  of  the 
third  magnitude  (3.44);  and  Kappa,  already 
referred  to  as  the  little  star  on  the  front  edge 
of  the  seat,  is  a  fourth  magnitude  (4.24) 
star.  Eta  (?;),  half-way  between  Alpha  and 
Gamma,  is  an  interesting  binary,  or  double 
star.  The  two  stars  composing  it  complete 
a  revolution  around  each  other  every  two 
hundred  years,  and  are  comparatively  near 
to  us,  being  only  about  thirteen  light  years 
away. 

198 


CASSIOPEIA,  CEPHEUS,  AND   DRAGON 

Only  two  stars  in  Cassiopeia  have  in- 
dividual names.  Alpha  is  sometimes  known 
as  Schedar,  and  Beta  was  formerly  called 
Caph.  Polaris  is  just  about  half-way  be- 
tween Caph  and  Megrez,  the  star  which 
joins  the  handle  to  the  bowl  of  the  Dipper, 
and  is  on  the  same  side  of  the  pole  with 
Caph. 

CEPHEUS 

Next  to  Cassiopeia  is  Cepheus,  the  king, 
her  husband.  He  stands  with  one  foot  on 
Polaris  and  his  head  reaching  to  Andromeda. 
The  constellation  has  only  one  second  magni- 
tude star,  Alpha,  which  was  formerly  called 
Alderamin,  meaning  "the  arm."  This  star 
and  Beta,  a  rather  bright  third  magnitude 
star  lying  eight  degrees  nearer  the  pole  than 
Alpha,  point  almost  as  directly  to  Polaris  as 
the  well-known  pointers.  They  are  a  little 
nearer  the  pole  than  the  pointers  and  are 
about  three  degrees  farther  apart. 

When  Cassiopeia  is  east  of  the  pole,  Ce- 
pheus is  just  above  her.  When  she  is 
above  the  pole,  he  is  west  of  her;  and 
when  she  is  below  it,  he  is  just  east  of 
her. 

199 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 
THE    DRAGON 

The  only  other  important  constellation 
among  those  around  the  north  pole  is  Draco, 
or  the  Dragon.  It  is  supposed  to  represent, 
and  does  somewhat  suggest,  a  great  dragon 
which  winds  in  and  out  among  the  circum- 
polar  stars  in  graceful  serpent-like  convolu- 
tions. It  is  the  Dragon  on  which  the  giant 
Hercules  rests  one  foot.  Its  head  is  marked 
by  a  four-sided  figure  a  short  distance  north- 
west of  Vega,  containing  two  bright  and  two 
faint  stars.  Since  the  head  of  Draco  never 
sets,  it  is  interesting  to  watch  it  when  Vega 
is  below  the  horizon,  and  one  sometimes  has 
a  feeling  that  by  a  good  big  stretch  on  the 
tip  of  his  toes  he  could  see  the  bright  Vega 
just  below  the  shining  eyes  of  the  Dragon. 
The  rest  of  the  constellation  is  outlined  by 
a  number  of  faint  stars.  It  runs  a  short  dis- 
tance towards  Cygnus,  and  then  with  some 
well-marked  undulations  it  runs  up  towards 
Cepheus  until  it  is  between  Cepheus  and 
the  Little  Dipper.  There  it  turns,  makes  a 
sweep  around  the  Little  Dipper,  and,  running 
between  it  and  Ursa  Major,  ends  just  above 
the  bowl  of  the  Great  Dipper. 

The  two  brightest  stars  in  Draco  are  the 

200 


CASSIOPEIA,  CEPHEUS,  AND   DRAGON 

ones  in  the  head.  The  brightest  is  the  one 
nearest  Vega,  which  is  Gamma  (7)  Draconis, 
sometimes  called  Etamin.  The  other  is  Beta 
08),  with  the  individual  name  of  Alwaid. 
Gamma  is  a  second  magnitude  star,  and 
Beta  is  of  the  third  magnitude.  Gamma  is 
a  beautiful  orange-colored  star  and  is  only 
about  thirteen  light  years  away  from  the 
earth. 

A  small  star  near  the  tail  of  the  Dragon, 
lying  half-way  between  Mizar,  of  the  Great 
Dipper,  and  the  lower  star  in  the  bowl  of  the 
Little  Dipper,  is  noted  as  having  been  the 
Pole  Star  four  thousand  years  ago.  Its 
name  is  Thuban,  and  it  is  the  Alpha  of  the 
constellation,  though  Draco  now  contains 
seven  other  stars  that  are  brighter. 


XXV 

FROM   THE   HUNTING-DOGS   TO   THE   ARROW 
CANES   VENATICI 

JUST  under  the  handle  of  the  Great  Dip- 
per is  a  collection  of  faint  stars  called 
Canes  Venatici,  or  the  Hun  ting- Dogs.  The 
only  naked -eye  star  of  any  importance  in 
it  is  Alpha,  commonly  called  Cor  Caroli.  It 
gets  its  name  from  a  modern  attempt  to 
make  a  constellation  in  honor  of  King 
Charles  II.  of  England.  The  name  means 
"the  heart  of  Charles."  When  the  handle 
qf  the  Great  Dipper  is  turned  towards  the 
west,  Cor  Caroli  hangs  under  it  in  a  very 
conspicuous  position  and  is  a  star  that  one 
would  naturally  notice  and  inquire  about. 
It  forms  a  triangle  with  Arcturus  and 
Benetnasch,  or  Alcaid,  the  star  at  the  end 
of  the  handle  of  the  Dipper.  It  is  one  of 
the  brightest  of  the  third  magnitude  stars. 
202 


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Pegasus 


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Corona's  Bootes 


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THE    MIDDLE    SE 
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;ude  except  those  around  the  North  Pole,  shown  on  Plate  I 


FROM   HUNTING-DOGS   TO   ARROW 

It  is  also  a  double  star,  with  a  companion  of 
about  the  fifth  magnitude;  but  the  two  are 
too  close  together  to  be  separated  by  the 
naked  eye. 

BOOTES 

Canes  Venatici  is  a  sort  of  connecting-link 
between  the  strict  circumpolar  constellations 
and  those  that  make  a  somewhat  larger  cir- 
cle around  the  pole  and  are  not  visible  all 
the  time.  Perhaps  the  easiest  way  to  find 
them  is  to  look  for  them  one  by  one  as  they 
follow  each  other  up  from  the  eastern  horizon. 
Canes  Venatici  is  supposed  to  represent  two 
hunting-dogs  on  the  trail  of  the  Great  Bear, 
and  they  are  naturally  followed  by  the 
hunter,  or  the  bear-driver,  Bootes,  which 
rises  next.  The  constellation  is  represented 
by  a  kite-shaped  figure  that  rises  about  eight 
o'clock  early  in  March.  One  can  find  it 
easily  by  the  great  star  Arcturus,  with  which 
we  are  already  familiar,  and  which  lies  in  the 
knee  of  the  hunter.  It  is  a  very  pretty 
constellation  and  of  some  astronomical  in- 
terest, but  it  is  not  remarkable  to  the 
ordinary  view  except  for  its  one  brilliant 
star. 

203 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 
CORONA    BOREALIS 

Corona  Borealis,  or  the  Northern  Crown, 
is  a  semicircle  of  stars  that  rises  just  east  of 
the  northern  part  of  Bootes.  Its  chief  star 
Alphecca  (Alpha  Coronas)  comes  into  view 
just  an  hour  and  a  quarter  later  than  Arc- 
turus.  It  is  of  the  second  magnitude, 
though  much  fainter  than  the  brightest  sec- 
ond magnitude  stars.  The  constellation  as  a 
whole  is  a  rather  brilliant  one,  notwithstand- 
ing it  has  no  star  brighter  than  the  fourth 
magnitude  except  Alphecca.  There  are 
seven  principal  ones,  and  most  of  them  are 
of  the  white,  twinkling  kind,  so  that  the 
crown  is  full -jewelled.  The  entire  constel- 
lation is  only  about  fifteen  degrees  across. 

HERCULES 

Next  after  Corona  rises  Hercules,  one  of  the 
large  constellations.  It  begins  just  south  of 
the  head  of  Draco  and  runs  to  within  four  de- 
grees of  the  equator.  The  chief  stars  compos- 
ing it  make  a  figure  something  like  the  one 
shown  in  the  diagram  on  the  opposite  page. 

It  is  supposed  to  represent  Hercules  on  one 
knee,  with  uplifted  club  and  with  one  foot 
204 


FROM   HUNTING-DOGS   TO   ARROW 

on  Draco's  head.  The  figure  is  not  very  sug- 
gestive of  the  giant,  but  it  is  easily  recognized 
by  its  geometrical  outlines,  and  in  some 
moods  one  may  even  fancy  the  resemblance. 


A 


HERCULES 


Strangely  enough,  the  position  of  Hercules  is 
such  that  it  is  just  as  easy  to  trace  the  figure 
with  its  head  to  the  north  as  to  the  south. 
The  leg  bent  at  the  knee  on  one  end  and  the 
uplifted  arm  on  the  other  make  somewhat 
similar  outlines ;  and  the  body  is  not  so  shape- 
14  205 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

ly  as  to  lose  much  in  either  charm  or  defi- 
niteness  of  outline  when  it  is  regarded  up- 
side down.  The  head,  however,  properly 
belongs  to  the  southern  end  of  the  con- 
stellation; for  the  main  action  of  the  figure 
consists  in  the  hero's  placing  his  foot  on  the 
Dragon's  head,  and  Draco,  we  know,  is  north 
of  him. 

Hercules  has  no  star  as  bright  as  the  second 
magnitude,  but  has  many  of  the  third  and 
fourth  magnitudes,  and  has  also  several 
double  stars.  The  constellation  is  directly 
north  of  Scorpius. 

LYRA   AND    CYGNUS 

Lyra,  or  the  Harp,  is  the  next  constellation 
eastward  from  the  northern  part  of  Hercules. 
It  contains  the  brilliant  Vega,  and  its  form 
has  already  been  described.  In  addition  to 
Vega,  it  has  a  famous  star,  Epsilon  (e);  a 
variable  star,  Beta  (/3),  which  is  also  a 
double  star;  and  a  rare  nebula,  known  as 
the  Ring  Nebula,  on  account  of  its  shape. 
Epsilon  can  be  divided  into  two  stars  by  a 
sharp  eye,  and  to  try  to  see  them  is  an  in- 
teresting exercise.  Each  of  the  two  is  again 
double.  Vega  and  Epsilon,  with  Zeta  (£), 
206 


FROM    HUNTING-DOGS    TO    ARROW 

the  star  nearest  to  Vega  in  the  parallelogram 
described  on  page  50,  form  an  equilateral 
triangle  each  side  of  which  is  two  degrees  in 
length.  This  will  enable  one  to  find  Epsilon. 
Cygnus  is  the  constellation  that  holds 
Deneb.  In  its  rising  it  follows  Lyra,  and  it 
has  been  fully  described  in  the  chapter  on 
Deneb. 

AQUILA,   THE   DOLPHIN,   AND    SAGITTA 

In  Aquila  we  recognize  the  bright  Altair, 
which,  with  its  two  companions,  already 
known  to  us,  serves  to  indicate  the  con- 
stellation. Exactly  eight  degrees  below  Al- 
tair when  it  is  on  the  meridian  is  a  con- 
spicuously variable  star  (Eta  Aquilae),  which 
changes  from  the  third  to  the  fifth  magni- 
tude every  seven  days.  Its  changes  are  well- 
marked  to  the  unassisted  eye  and  make  it 
an  interesting  object  to  follow  from  night  to 
night.  It  is  best  seen  in  the  early  autumn, 
when  Aquila  is  on  the  meridian  during  the 
first  part  of  the  evening.  The  two  com- 
panions of  Altair  are  Beta  and  Gamma 
Aquilas.  Beta  is  south  of  Altair,  and 
Gamma  is  north  of  it.  The  line  joining  the 
three  stars  is  just  five  degrees  in  length. 
207 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Aquila  is  supposed  to  represent  an  eagle 
flying  towards  the  east  and  across  the  Milky 
Way. 

The  Dolphin,  or  Job's  Coffin,  in  the  shape 
of  a  diamond,  is  jUst  east  of  Aquila  and  a 
little  farther  north  than  Altair.  Three  of 
the  stars  composing  the  diamond  are  a  little 
variable;  one  of  them  is  a  double  star,  and 
another  is  a  spectroscopic  binary,  which  is 
also  suspected  of  being  a  triple  star. 

Sagitta,  or  the  Arrow,  lies  in  the  Milky 
Way,  north  of  Aquila  and  south  of  Cygnus. 
It  is  composed  of  five  stars  so  arranged  as  to 
suggest  an  arrow  pointing  towards  the  east. 
Though  a  very  small  constellation,  it  is  pret- 
ty and  easily  found. 


XXVI 

FROM  THE  WINGED  HORSE  TO  THE  BULL 

THE  next  constellation  of  any  importance 
that  we  may  expect  to  see  in  the  east 
is  Pegasus.  It  is  nearly  three  hours  after 
Altair  is  in  view  before  the  principal  stars 
of  Pegasus  are  seen  coming  up  over  the 
horizon  a  little  north  of  east.  It  is  a  large 
constellation  composed  in  the  main  of  small 
stars.  The  chief  figure  in  it  is  a  large  square 
called  "the  square  of  Pegasus."  Each  side 
is  nearly  eighteen  degrees  long,  and  the  four 
stars  composing  it  are  sufficiently  bright  to 
make  the  square  a  significant  figure  in  the 
sky. 

On  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  square 
is  a  small  triangle  which  serves  as  an  identi- 
fying mark.  The  star  on  this  corner  of  the 
square  is  called  Scheat.  It  is  Beta  Pegasi 
and  the  third  star  in  order  of  brightness  in 
the  constellation.  Alpha  Pegasi  (sometimes 
209 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

called  Markab)  is  on  the  corner  below  Beta 
and  is  a  very  little  the  brighter.  The  other 
lower  corner  is  marked  by  Algenib,  or  Gamma 
Pegasi,  a  star  somewhat  less  bright  than 
Beta ;  and  the  star  in  the  fourth  corner  of  the 
square,  which  is  the  brightest  of  them  all, 
really  belongs  to  Andromeda.  Its  individual 
name  is  Alpheratz.  It  was  formerly  Alpha 
Andromedae  and  also  Delta  Pegasi;  but  it  is 
not  now  included  in  Pegasus,  although  it 
is  necessary  to  complete  the  square.  The 
brightest  star  belonging  to  the  Pegasus 
family  is  Enif ,  or  Epsilon  Pegasi.  It  marks 
the  nose  of  the  horse,  and  lies  about  ten 
degrees  east  of  the  little  diamond  of  the 
Dolphin. 

Pegasus  is  supposed  to  represent  the  wing- 
ed horse,  the  favorite  of  the  Muses.  He 
rises  up-side  down,  with  his  fore-feet  pawing 
in  the  air  up  towards  Cygnus  and  the  top  of 
his  head  resting  on  the  urn  of  Aquarius. 
His  position  is  such  that  he  does  not  entirely 
right  himself  in  his  journey  across  the  skies, 
as  some  of  the  figures  of  the  constellations 
do;  but  ever  on  his  back,  he  goes  pawing 
across  the  heavens  and  down  "into  the 
depths  of  the  ocean" — symbolic,  perhaps,  of 
the  condition  ascribed  to  those  who  ride  him. 
210 


FROM  THE  WINGED  HORSE   TO  THE  BULL 

The  hind  parts  of  Pegasus  are  hidden  by 
the  rocks  on  which  Andromeda  lies,  and  her 
head  is  marked  by  the  northernmost  star  of 
the  square  that  outlines  his  body. 

ANDROMEDA 

The  constellation  Andromeda  is  supposed 
to  represent  a  beautiful  lady  chained  to  the 
rocks.  She  was  the  daughter  of  -  Queen 
Cassiopeia  and  King  Cepheus,  who  are  near 
her  in  the  skies  and  have  been  described,  and 
she  was  brought  to  this  situation  because  her 
mother  boasted  too  much  of  her  beauty. 

The  constellation  is  more  than  thirty 
degrees  in  length  and  is  outlined  by  a  row 
of  four  bright  stars,  beginning  with  the  one 
in  the  corner  of  the  square  of  Pegasus  and 
running  northeast  across  the  heavens  in  a 
slightly  curved  and  easily  traced  line  under 
Cassiopeia.  Andromeda  and  the  square  of 
Pegasus  are  shown  in  the  illustration,  to- 
gether with  the  *  'segment  of  Perseus,"  which 
lies  next  to  Andromeda. 

The  main  stars  in  the  two  constellations 
are  thought  to  somewhat  suggest  an  im- 
mense dipper;  but  for  that  matter  one  can 
find  a  whole  tinshop  of  dippers  in  the  sky 

211 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

if  his  mind  runs  that  way  and  he  is  willing 
to  admit  a  variety  of  styles  in  this  useful 
utensil. 

Andromeda  rises  cradled  on  the  rock  to 
which  she  is  bound,  her  head  lifted  gently 


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ANDROMEDA,    THE    SQUARE    OF    PEGASUS,    AND    THE    SEG- 
MENT   OF    PERSEUS 

into  view  by  the  great  square  body  of  Peg- 
asus, on  which  it  rests,  and  her  feet,  very 
properly,  coming  up  last.  But  she  sets  in  a 
most  undignified  fashion,  drawn  down  by 
the  flying  Pegasus  head  first,  leaving  her 
feet  waving  above  the  horizon  after  the  rest 
of  her  is  out  of  sight.  The  four  chief  stars 
forming  the  curved  line  are  Alpheratz,  or 
Alpha  Andromedae,  which  marks  the  head; 
Delta,  lying  in  the  shoulder,  from  which  an 
arm  is  outstretched  towards  the  north ;  Beta, 

212 


FROM  THE  WING,ED  HORSE  TO  THE  BULL 

or  Mirach,  marking  the  girdle;  and  Gamma, 
or  Almach,  indicating  the  foot.  They  are  all 
second  magnitude  stars  except  Delta,  which 
is  of  the  third  magnitude.  Almach  is  a 
noted  triple  star  which  can  be  separated  by 
the  telescope.  The  components  are  orange, 
emerald,  and  blue. 

A  short  distance  north  of  Beta  is  the 
famous  Andromeda  Nebula,  which  is  the 
brightest  nebula  in  the  entire  sky.  It  can 
be  plainly  seen  with  the  naked  eye  and  looks 
like  a  hazy  star.  It  is  an  enormous  body  of 
nebulous  matter,  estimated  to  be  in  length 
as  much  as  thirty  thousand  times  the  dis- 
tance of  the  earth  from  the  sun,  which  we 
know  is  about  ninety-three  million  miles. 

PERSEUS 

The  hero  that  rescued  Andromeda  from 
her  woful  plight  was  Perseus,  and  he  also 
is  enshrined  in  a  constellation,  which  adorns 
the  sky  in  the  region  a  little  north  of  An- 
dromeda. It  lies  in  a  very  brilliant  part  of 
the  Milky  Way  and  is  a  beautiful  constella- 
tion. The  principal  figure  in  it  is  a  curved 
line  of  stars  running  from  Cassiopeia  towards 
Capella  and  called  the  "  segment  of  Perseus." 
213 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

About  the  centre  of  the  segment  is  Mirfak,  or 
Alpha  Persei,  a  very  bright  second  magni- 
tude star,  the  brightest  in  the  constellation. 

The  most  noted  star  in  Perseus  is  Beta,  or 
Algol.  It  lies  a  little  southeast  of  Mirfak 
and  forms  a  triangle  with  it  and  Almach, 
the  star  in  the  foot  of  Andromeda.  Algol 
varies  in  brightness  from  second  to  third 
magnitude  once  in  about  every  three  days 
(2  days,  20  hours,  48  minutes, and  55  seconds). 
It  has  been  much  written  about  as  "the 
demon  star'*  and  "the  slow- winking  star." 
Since  it  varies  at  such  short  intervals  and  so 
markedly,  it  has  long  been  an  object  of  in- 
terest even  to  the  naked-eye  observer.  The 
mystery  of  its  changes  has  been  made  clear 
by  the  spectroscope,  and  it  is  now  known 
to  be  a  spectroscopic  binary  with  a  dark  com- 
panion that  eclipses  it  about  once  in  three 
days.  Its  eclipse  lasts  about  eighteen  min- 
utes, and  for  that  length  of  time  it  is  a 
faint  third  magnitude  star.  Then  it  re- 
gains its  brightness  and  remains  a  second 
magnitude  star  until  the  next  eclipse. 

Algol   is   interesting  to  observers  in  the 

latitude  of  New  York  City  as  being  the  only 

star  as  bright  as  the  second  magnitude  that 

comes  very  near  our  zenith,  or  the  point 

214 


FROM  THE  WINGED  HORSE  TO  THE  BULL 

directly  over  our  heads,  on  its  course  across 
the  heavens.  When  on  the  meridian  it  is 
only  about  one-tenth  of  a  degree  from  our 
zenith.  Algol  rises  about  an  hour  earlier 
than  Capella.  Perseus  has  two  very  beau- 
tiful star  clusters  which  make  a  splendid  dis- 
play with  the  aid  of  ordinary  opera-glasses. 

AURIGA 

Auriga  rises  next  after  Perseus  in  the 
northeast.  It  is  the  constellation  that  con- 
tains the  charming  Capella,  which  is,  of 
course,  its  brightest  and  most  important 
star.  Its  five  brightest  stars  outline  a  five- 
sided  figure  which  somewhat  resembles  a 
shield.  Aside  from  Capella,  the  constella- 
tion has  only  one  star  as  bright  as  the  second 
magnitude.  This  is  Beta  Aurigas,  or  Men- 
kalinan.  The  other  three  stars  of  the  pen- 
tagon are  of  the  third  magnitude.  Auriga 
is  supposed  to  represent  a  goatherd  holding 
a  small  she-goat  in  his  arms. 

TRIANGULUM 

Just  below,  or  east,  of  Andromeda  is  a 
pretty  little  constellation  called  Triangulum, 
215 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

or  the  Triangle.  There  are  only  five  stars 
in  it,  and  the  brightest  one  is  only  of  the 
third  magnitude.  Two  others  are  of  the 
fourth,  and  two  of  the  fifth  magnitude.  It 
rises  about  half  an  hour  after  Andromeda. 

ARIES 

Next  east  of  Triangulum  is  Aries,  a  small 
but  important  constellation.  Its  importance 
consists  in  its  being  one  of  the  constellations 
of  the  Zodiac,  which  mark  the  path  of  the 
sun.  The  sun  passes  through  it  from  April 
1 5th  to  May  i3th;  so  that  six  months  later 
it  is  exactly  opposite  the  sun  in  the  skies 
and  rises  just  as  the  sun  sets.  It  is  the  first 
sign  of  the  Zodiac;  but  owing  to  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoxes  the  signs  of  the 
Zodiac  do  not  now  correspond  with  the  con- 
stellations of  the  same  name.  From  the 
middle  of  March  to  the  middle  of  April,  when 
the  sun  is  in  the  sign  of  Aries,  it  is  in  the  con- 
stellation Pisces ;  and  when  it  is  really  in  the 
constellation  Aries,  it  is  said  to  be  in  the 
sign  Taurus. 

The  chief  stars  of  Aries  form  a  triangle  in 
size  about  like  Triangulum,  and  the  two  con- 
stellations are  sometimes  mistaken  for  each 
216 


FROM  THE  WINGED  HORSE  TO  THE  BULL 

other  by  observers  not  entirely  familiar  with 
these  constellations.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  Triangulum  rises  first  and  is  about 
half-way  between  Aries  and  Andromeda,  and 
that  the  apexes  of  the  two  triangles  point  in 
different  directions. 

The  chief  star  of  Aries  is  Hamel.  It  rises 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  after  Algol 
and  about  fifteen  minutes  before  Capella. 
It  is  the  brightest  star  in  the  constellation 
and  is  of  the  second  magnitude.  The  next 
brightest  is  Beta  Arietis,  or  Sheratan.  It  is 
about  one-half  a  magnitude  less  bright  than 
Hamel  and  is  about  three  degrees  below,  or 
east  of,  it  in  the  sky.  The  two  stars  mark 
the  base  of  the  two  horns  of  Aries,  or  the 
Ram. 

TAURUS 

Taurus  is  the  splendid  constellation  in 
which  Aldebaran  lies,  and  can  always  be  rec- 
ognized by  that  bright  star.  It  is  the  third 
constellation  and  second  sign  of  the  Zodiac. 
The  sun  passes  through  it  from  May  i3th  to 
June  1 8th ;  so  it  may  be  seen  rising  as  the  sun 
sets  six  months  later — from  the  middle  of 
November  to  the  middle  of  December. 

Taurus  contains  the  cluster  of  the  Hyades, 
217 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

which  are  supposed  to  rule  over  wet  weather 
and  are  sometimes  referred  to  in  poetry  as 
the  "moist  Hyades."  Aldebaran,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  one  of  this  cluster.  The  cluster 
outlines  the  face  of  the  Bull.  Above  it  are 
the  Pleiades,  which  lie  in  the  Bull's  shoulder. 
The  tips  of  the  horns  are  indicated  by  two 
stars  up  near  Auriga,  one  of  them,  indeed, 
lying  inside  the  boundary  of  that  con- 
stellation. 

The  Bull  rises  backward,  with  its  head 
lowered  under  the  threatening  arm  of  Orion, 
and  it  backs  all  the  way  across  the  heavens, 
going  down  without  having  made  the  terrible 
onset  which  it  all  the  time  promises. 


XXVII 

THE    MYSTERY    OF   THE    PLEIADES 

OF  all  the  groups  of  stars  in  the  heavens 
there  is  none  that  has  excited  so  uni- 
versal and  so  romantic  an  interest  as  the 
Pleiades.  The  magic  of  their  quivering, 
misty  light  has  always  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  men  of  imagination.  Minstrels  and  poets 
of  the  early  days  sang  of  their  bewitchment 
and  beauty,  and  many  of  the  great  poets,  from 
Homer  and  the  author  of  Job  down  to  Tenny- 
son and  the  men  of  our  own  day,  have  had 
their  fancy  enlivened  by  them,  and  in  one 
form  or  another  have  celebrated  their  sweet- 
ness and  mystery  and  charm.  By  men  of 
fancy  they  have  been  compared  to  a  swarm 
of  fire-flies,  to  bees,  to  a  rosette  of  diamonds, 
and  to  shining  dew-drops,  and  by  less  ecstatic 
minds  to  a  hen  and  chickens  and  the  seven 
virgins.  Even  with  people  who  do  not  know 
them  by  sight  and  have  not  felt  "the  sweet 
219 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

influences  of  Pleiades,"  there  is  a  vague 
memory  of  some  story  about  a  lost  Pleiad 
that  stirs  an  emotion  suggesting  something 
romantic  and  sad. 

The  Pleiades  form,  in  truth,  a  delightful 
group  of  twinkling,  unfathomable  stars, 
singularly  fascinating  and  singularly  per- 
sistent in  their  brilliancy.  Of  the  six  that 
can  usually  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  all 
but  one  are  of  the  fourth  magnitude  and  are 
not  much  brighter  than  the  tiny  Alcor, 
Mizar's  companion.  Yet  often  when  the 
moon  is  full  and  many  of  even  the  third 
magnitude  stars  are  practically  extinguished 
by  its  greater  brilliancy,  the  Pleiades  hang 
in  the  sky  like  a  small  luminous  cloud  dis- 
tinctly visible  and  commanding  admiration. 
When  the  moon  is  dark,  they  are  hardly  less 
conspicuous  than  a  first  magnitude  star,  and 
one  sometimes  fancies  what  a  splendid  great 
star  they  would  seem  to  us  if  they  would  only 
huddle  a  little  closer  together  so  that  we 
could  see  them  as  one. 

Still,  even  on  the  surface  of  the  sky  just 
as  we  see  them,  they  are  not  so  close  together 
as  we  often  regard  them.  The  full  moon, 
which  to  casual  observation  seems  to  cover  a 
so  much  greater  area  than  they,  can  move 
220 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    THE    PLEIADES 

about  among  them,  most  of  the  time  covering 
only  one  visible  star  at  a  time.  This  occurs 
when  the  Pleiades  are  occulted  by  the  moon, 
a  phenomenon  which  is  sometimes  seen,  since 
the  Pleiades  lie  within  four  degrees  of  the 
centre  of  the  Zodiac,  in  which,  as  we  know, 
lies  the  path  of  the  moon.  The  whole  con- 
stellation covers  a  space  of  a  little  more  than 
three  square  degrees,  while  the  apparent 
diameter  of  the  moon  is  but  little  more  than 
half  a  degree.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  it 


N 

•j 

THE    PLEIADES 


would  require  four  or  five  moons  together  to 
cover  the  little  dipper  of  the  Pleiades  from 
our  view  entirely,  but  it  is  true.  The  moon 
looks  so  much  larger  because  of  its  brilliancy. 
Its  size  as  compared  with  other  objects  in  the 
heavens  is  very  deceptive. 

IS  221 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

The  principal  stars  of  the  Pleiades  form 
an  outline  resembling  a  short-handled  dipper. 

I  have  more  than  once  been  asked  if  this 
was  the  Little  Dipper.  It  is,  of  course,  in  an 
entirely  different  part  of  the  sky  from  the 
constellation  called  the  Little  Dipper,  the 
one  which  has  Polaris  at  the  end  of  its  handle. 
The  Pleiades  are  in  the  constellation  Taurus. 
They  rise  just  an  hour  earlier  than  Aldebaran 
and  are  visible  at  the  same  seasons  as  that 
bright  star.  We  see  their  shining  light  dur- 
ing the  first  cold  evenings  of  autumn.  On 
Hallowe'en  they  are  about  half-way  up  from 
the  horizon  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock. 
In  the  winter,  they  are  high  in  the  sky  during 
the  early  evening,  tending  more  and  more 
towards  the  west  as  the  season  advances. 
In  March  they  set  between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock,  and  in  April  they  disappear  from  the 
evening  skies. 

Any  one  can  see  the  six  principal  stars  of 
the  Pleiades ;  many  can  see  seven,  and  sharp 
eyes  can  distinguish  anywhere  from  eight 
to  eleven.  There  are  so  many  stars  in  the 
group  that  are  just  beyond  the  limit  of  easy 
visibility  that  to  any  eye  the  number  varies 
according  to  the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere 
and  other  physical  causes.  Even  from  mo- 

222 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    THE    PLEIADES 

ment  to  moment  they  twinkle  in  and  out 
of  our  vision.  It  was  no  doubt  this  charac- 
teristic that  suggested  the  simile  of  a  "  swarm 
of  fire-flies."  There  are,  in  fact,  more  than 
three  thousand  stars  in  this  small  group. 
They  cannot  all  be  seen  with  a  telescope,  but 
they  have  recorded  the  fact  of  their  existence 
on  the  photographic  plates. 

By  means  of  photography,  too,  we  have 
learned  that  they  are  all  enwrapped  in  a  vast 
body  of  nebulous  matter — "a  cosmical  fog," 
it  has  been  called — which  hangs  around  them 
like  a  great  veil,  gathering  itself  into  wisps 
here  and  there  and  in  some  instances  making 
something  like  festoons  from  one  star  to  an- 
other. Slight  traces  of  this  great  cloud  of 
nebula  were  seen  more  than  fifty  years  ago 
through  the  telescope,  but  it  is  only  within 
the  last  few  years  that  the  extent  and  signifi- 
cance of  it  have  been  learned. 

Taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  stars  in  this  vast  nebula  show 
spectra  very  much  alike  and  are  nearly  all  of 
the  Sirian  type,  indicating  an  early  stage  of 
evolution,  astronomers  find  evidence  that 
the  principal  stars  of  the  Pleiades  are  close- 
ly related  in  their  origin  and  development. 
The  chief  stars  of  the  group  have  the  same 
223 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

general  motion  in  the  heavens,  and  more 
than  forty  of  the  fainter  ones  have  been  ob- 
served and  are  found  to  be  moving  along 
with  the  system. 

There  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  it  is  a  great 
system  gradually  developing  from  the  tre- 
mendous mass  of  nebula  in  which  it  is  en- 
gulfed. For  millions  of  years  it  has  been 
condensing  into  great  stars  like  Alcyone  and 
others  as  large  or  larger.  In  comparison 
with  them  our  sun  is  small  indeed,  and  at  the 
same  distance  could  be  seen  only  with  a 
good  telescope.  Perhaps  even  the  greatest 
telescope  would  be  required,  for  all  attempts 
to  find  the  distance  of  the  Pleiades  from  us 
have  yielded  no  certain  results.  The  most 
we  can  learn  is  that  they  must  be  at  least  two 
or  three  hundred  light  years  away,  and  may 
be  much  farther  than  that.  According  to 
Ball,  the  group  "must  be  millions  of  times 
as  remote  from  the  earth  as  the  sun,  and 
many  of  the  stars  of  the  Pleiades  must  be 
hundreds  of  times  more  lustrous  than  the 
sun."  Alcyone,  for  example,  is  supposed  to 
be  about  sixty  times  more  brilliant  than 
Sirius,  and  other  stars  of  the  Pleiades  are 
not  less  bright. 

In  keeping  with  the  magnificent  scale  on 
224 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    THE    PLEIADES 

which  the  whole  system  is  constructed  is  the 
distance  of  the  individual  stars  in  it  from 
each  other.  Most  of  them,  it  is  supposed, 
must  be  almost  as  far  apart  as  the  distance 
of  the  nearest  fixed  star  from  us.  Light 
comes  to  us  from  the  sun  in  eight  minutes, 
but  to  travel  from  one  Pleiad  to  another  it 
would  require  not  less  than  three  or  four 
years,  and  perhaps  even  longer.  Many  such 
solar  systems  as  ours  could  be  placed  between 
any  two  of  the  principal  stars  of  the  Pleiades 
and  still  have  room  enough.  Yet  so  dis- 
tant are  they  from  us  that  with  this  vast  space 
between  the  individuals  the  group  shows  to 
us  only  the  tiny  cluster  of  twinkling  stars, 
small  enough  to  barely  cover  the  jewels  in 
Orion's  belt. 

We  may  know  more  about  the  Pleiades  as 
time  goes  on,  but  they  will  never  be  any 
nearer  to  us  or  any  brighter  to  our  view. 
They  may  indeed  in  future  ages  be  even  less 
bright,  for  every  second  of  our  lives  the  dis- 
tance between  us  and  them  is  increased  by 
many  miles.  Our  sun,  with  us,  his  children, 
is  travelling  through  space  away  from  the 
Pleiades  at  the  rate  of  about  thirteen  miles 
a  second,  while  they  are  headed  towards 
another  part  of  the  universe  and  travelling 
225 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

at  no  less  a  rate.  And  yet,  in  seeming  con- 
tradiction to  this,  under  the  old  Hindu  con- 
ception of  the  material  universe,  Alcyone, 
the  brightest  star  in  this  group,  is  supposed 
to  be  the  centre  around  which  our  sun  with 
all  its  planets  and  other  suns  with  their 
planets  are  revolving  in  immense  orbits, 
covering  quadrillions  of  miles  and  requiring 
billions  of  years  for  one  circuit.  This  idea 
has  been  somewhat  revived  recently,  not  so 
much  by  astronomers  or  scientists  as  by 
speculative  philosophers  who  are  expound- 
ing the  metaphysical  thought  of  the  East. 
One  or  two  modern  astronomers  have  at 
least  not  rejected  it,  so  far  as  our  sun  is 
concerned,  and  one  has  even  ventured  to 
say  that  the  star  is  probably  about  seven 
hundred  and  fifteen  light  years  away  from 
us  and  that  our  sun  revolves  around  it  in  a 
period  of  about  twenty-two  million  years. 
But  astronomers  generally  do  not  find  suf- 
ficient foundation  for  this  belief. 

The  nine  brightest  stars  of  the  Pleiades 
bear  the  names  of  Atlas  and  his  seven  daugh- 
ters and  their  mother,  the  nymph  Pleione. 
Atlas  is  the  star  at  the  end  of  the  handle  of 
the  dipper  formed  by  the  stars.  Pleione,  the 
mother,  lies  just  above  him,  and  is  generally 
226 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    THE    PLEIADES 

supposed  to  be  the  lost  Pleiad,  since  it  is 
difficult  for  some  persons  to  see  her.  Alcyone, 
the  brightest  of  them  all,  is  of  the  third 
magnitude,  and  lies  at  the  joining  of  the 
bowl  and  the  handle  of  the  dipper.  Electra, 
the  second  star  in  point  of  brightness,  lies 
in  the  bottom  of  the  dipper  and  is  of  the 
fourth  magnitude.  It  is  but  a  shade  brighter 
than  Atlas,  and  the  ordinary  eye  can  see  no 
difference  between  the  two.  Maia,  which 
lies  about  the  middle  of  the  top  rim  of  the 
bowl ;  Merope,  in  the  back  corner  of  the  bowl, 
and  Taygeta,  at  the  front  edge  of  the  brim, 
are  all  fourth  magnitude  stars.  Celaeno,  a 
little  fainter,  is  about  half  -  way  between 
Electra  and  Taygeta;  and  Asterope,  the 
faintest  of  her  family,  lies  a  short  distance 
above  Taygeta.  Asterope  is  between  the 
seventh  and  the  eighth  magnitude,  and  very 
few  persons  can  see  it  without  the  aid  of  a 
glass. 

Asterope,  Taygeta,  and  Atlas  each  have  a 
companion  star  —  that  is,  they  are  double 
stars.  The  two  stars  comprising  Asterope 
are  each  of  about  the  seventh  magnitude; 
the  two  composing  Atlas  are  one  of  the 
fourth  and  one  of  the  fifth  magnitude.  Of 
Taygeta 's  two  stars,  one  is  nearly  one  hun- 
227 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS       9 

dred  times  brighter  than  the  other.     They 
are  of  the  fifth  and  the  tenth  magnitude. 

From  the  persistence  of  the  story  of  the 
4 'lost"  Pleiad  and  the  almost  universal  ref- 
erence to  them  as  "the  seven  stars,"  it  is 
thought  that  one  of  the  fainter  ones  may 
formerly  have  been  brighter,  but  it  is  not 
certain  which  one.  Electra  is  sometimes 
mentioned  as  having  veiled  her  face  on  ac- 
count of  the  destruction  of  Ilium,  and  some- 
times as  having  been  carried  off  by  Canopus. 
If  she  is  the  lost  one,  it  is  in  no  physical 
sense,  for  she  still  shines  the  second  in 
brightness  of  them  all.  The  like  is  true  of 
Merope,  who  has  been  said  to  be  the  lost  one 
because  she  married  the  mortal  Sisyphus, 
but  she  is  still  among  the  six  brightest 
Pleiades.  Celaeno  has  been  reported  to 
have  been  struck  by  lightning  and  thus  lost, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  refuting  this,  for 
Celaeno  is  almost  a  seventh  magnitude  star 
and  is  difficult  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 
Pleione,  however,  which  is  also  nearly  a 
seventh  magnitude  star,  is  the  one  generally 
supposed  to  have  lost  something  of  its  brill- 
iancy in  the  course  of  years,  which,  in  the 
absence  of  any  astronomical  reason  to  the 
contrary,  is  a  humanly  probable  supposition, 
228 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    THE    PLEIADES 

since  she  was  the  mother  of  them  all.  It 
has  also  been  suggested  that  the  lost  star 
may  have  been  a  nova,  or  a  new  star,  which 
has  faded  away,  as  others  of  its  kind  have 
done. 


XXVIII 

FROM  THE  TWINS  BACK  TO  THE  HUNTER 


is  the  constellation  of  the  Twins, 
already  described.  It  rises  about  the 
same  time  as  Taurus  and  is  next  north  of  it. 
Gemini  is  the  fourth  constellation  and  third 
sign  of  the  Zodiac.  The  sun  passes  through  it 
from  June  i8th  to  July  i8th.  Hence  it  can 
best  be  seen  from  October  to  May. 

CANIS   MINOR 

Canis  Minor  lies  south  of  Gemini  and  is 
already  known  to  us.  It  is  the  constellation 
containing  Procyon  ;  and  though  it  has  seven 
other  stars,  none  of  them  is  of  any  particular 
interest.  It  represents  a  very  small  dog  on 
the  back  of  a  horse.  The  horse  is  a  con- 
stellation in  itself,  and  is  called  Monoceros; 
but  it  is  insignificant  and  contains  no  star 
brighter  than  the  fourth  magnitude. 
230 


FROM   THE    TWINS    TO   THE    HUNTER 

CANCER 

This  is  a  small  constellation  containing  no 
star  brighter  than  the  fourth  magnitude,  and 
out  of  its  fifteen  naked-eye  stars  only  four 
are  as  bright  as  that.  It  is  the  fourth  sign 
and  the  fifth  constellation  of  the  Zodiac. 
After  leaving  Gemini,  the  sun  passes  through 
Cancer  from  July  i8th  to  August  7th.  The 
constellation  includes  most  of  the  stars  in 
the  region  between  Pollux  and  Regulus.  Its 
most  interesting  feature  is  Praesepe,  a  beauti- 
ful star  cluster  shaped  somewhat  like  a  bee- 
hive and  lying  about  ten  degrees  south  of 
Pollux.  It  is  visible  to  the  unaided  eye. 


LEO 


Leo,  or  the  Lion,  is  the  constellation  con- 
taining the  first  magnitude  star  Regulus, 
with  which  we  are  familiar.  It  is  the  fifth 
sign  and  the  sixth  constellation  of  the  Zo- 
diac, and  the  sun  is  travelling  through  it 
from  August  yth  to  September  i4th.  It  is 
best  seen  from  January  to  June.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  represent  a  couchant  lion  and  is  one 
of  the  rather  conspicuously  displayed  constel- 
lations. 

231 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

It  contains  three  stars  of  the  second  mag- 
nitude, Beta,  Gamma,  and  Delta  Leonis. 
Gamma  is  the  brightest  star  in  the  blade  of  the 
Sickle.  Beta,  more  frequently  called  De- 


• 


LEO    OR    THE    LION 

nebola;  Delta,  sometimes  called  Zosma,  and 
Theta  form  a  conspicuous  triangle.  Zosma 
lies  in  the  back  of  the  lion,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  tail,  and  Denebola  marks  the  tuft  at 
the  end  of  the  tail.  The  triangle  is  visible 
in  the  northwest  in  the  early  summer  for 
nearly  two  hours  after  the  Sickle  has  set. 

COMA    BERENICES 

Just  east  of  Leo  is  a  small  cluster  of  stars 
called  Berenice's  Hair.  It  is  interesting 
mainly  because  of  its  delicate  beauty. 

This  brings  us  back*  to  Bootes  in  our  cir- 
cuit of  the  constellations  south  of  those  sur- 
232 


FROM  THE  TWINS  TO  THE  HUNTER 

rounding  the  pole  and  north  of  the  equator. 
The  next  round  will  include  the  constella- 
tions coming  within  our  view  that  lie  either 
in  part  or  wholly  south  of  the  equator. 


XXIX 

CONSTELLATIONS  WHOLLY  OR  IN  PART  SOUTH 
OF  THE  EQUATOR 

VIRGO 

SOUTH  of  Coma  Berenices  and  Bootes  is 
Virgo,  the  sixth  sign  and  the  seventh 
constellation  of  the  Zodiac.  It  lies  about 
half  north  and  half  south  of  the  equator  and 
is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  constellations,  but 
not  one  of  the  richest  in  stars.  There  are 
only  about  thirty-eight  or  forty  naked-eye 
stars  within  its  boundaries.  One  of  these  is 
Spica,  already  known  to  us.  The  next  bright- 
est is  Gamma,  a  remarkable  binary  lying  about 
ten  degrees  north  of  Spica.  It  has  a  period 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty -five  years.  Its 
magnitude  is  2.91.  All  the  others  are  of  the 
third  magnitude  or  less.  The  sun  occupies 
Virgo  for  forty-three  days,  passing  through 
it  from  September  i4th  to  October  2pth. 
Its  stars  being  comparatively  faint  and  much 
scattered,  it  is  difficult  to  trace.  It  is  sup- 
234 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

posed  to  represent  a  goddess  with  wings, 
bearing  a  sheaf  of  wheat  in  one  hand.  Spica, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  in  the  ear  of  wheat.  The 
outline  of  the  maiden  is  so  entirely  fanciful 
that  it  is  impossible  to  follow  it ;  and  for  the 
ordinary  observer  it  is  sufficient  to  know 
that  the  constellation  occupies  all  the  space 
from  Leo  to  Libra  on  the  west  and  east,  and 
from  Bootes  on  the  north  to  Hydra  on  the 
south.  Denebola,  Spica,  Arcturus  and  Cor 
Caroli  form  a  large  diamond,  almost  fifty  de- 
grees in  length,  called  "  the  diamond  of  Virgo." 

LIBRA 

Libra,  or  the  Scales,  is  a  small  constellation 
lying  wholly  south  of  the  equator,  into  which 


s 

X     /'' 

V 

LIBRA    OR    THE    SCALES 
235 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

the  sun  passes  when  it  leaves  Virgo  on 
October  29th.  It  occupies  this  constellation 
until  November  2ist.  Libra  has  no  star 
brighter  than  the  third  magnitude.  Its 
chief  stars  form  a  four-sided  figure  that  is 
easily  identified. 

It  is  seen  during  the  summer  months  cross- 
ing from  southeast  to  southwest,  where  it 
disappears  in  November. 

SCORPIUS 

Scorpius  is  known  to  us  through  its  bright- 
est star,  Antares.  It  has  in  addition  four 
stars  of  the  second,  seven  of  the  third,  and 
nine  of  the  fourth  magnitude.  It  is  the 
ninth  constellation  and  the  eighth  sign  of  the 
Zodiac,  and  is  occupied  by  the  sun  from 
November  2ist  to  December  i6th.  It  is  the 
most  southerly  of  the  constellations  marking 
the  path  of  the  sun,  and  is  farther  south  than 
any  other  constellation  of  which  we  have  a 
complete  view.  But  inasmuch  as  the  sun 
does  not  pass  through  the  most  southerly 
part  of  Scorpius,  it  is  not  the  constellation 
that  contains  the  point  farthest  south  in  the 
Zodiac.  We  can  see  it  from  about  June  ist 
until  late  in  October. 

236 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

SAGITTARIUS 

Sagittarius  is  the  ninth  sign  and  tenth  con- 
stellation of  the  Zodiac.  In  it  lies  the  most 
southern  point  of  the  Zodiac.  The  sun 
enters  it  on  December  i6th  and  reaches  the 
most  southerly  point  of  its  path  five  days 
later,  December  2ist.  It  is  east  of  Scorpius 
and  lies  in  the  Milky  Way.  It  can  be  easily 
recognized  by  a  little  figure  like  a  dipper 
turned  upside  down,  which  is  called  the 
"Milk  Dipper"  because  it  lies  in  the  Milky 


<r 


THE    MILK    DIPPER 


Way.     It  is  very  conspicuous  during  August 
and  September. 

Sagittarius  represents  a  centaur  in  the  act 
of  shooting  an  arrow.     The  curved  line  of 
z6  237 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

stars  represents  the  bow;  the  one  extending 
into  the  Milky  Way  and  the  one  farthest 
east  in  the  Dipper  represent  the  arrow  and 
the  bent  arm  pulling  the  cord.  Sagittarius 
has  two  stars  of  the  second  magnitude,  nine 
of  the  third,  nine  of  the  fourth,  and  twenty- 
eight  of  the  fifth  magnitude.  The  Milk 
Dipper  is  almost  seventy  degrees  directly 
south  of  Vega  and  is  almost  as  far  south  of 
the  equator  as  Vega  is  north  of  it. 

OPHIUCHUS   AND    SERPENS 

Ophiuchus  and  Serpens  also  lie  on  both 
sides  of  the  equator.  They  form  a  sort  of 
combination  constellation  that  occupies  the 
space  between  Hercules  on  the  north  and 
Scorpius  on  the  south  and  branches  out  into 
both  of  them  rather  too  much  to  be  easily 
defined,  particularly  as  it  contains  no  very 
bright  stars.  It  is  supposed  to  represent  a 
man  bearing  a  serpent.  The  two  legs  of 
Ophiuchus  run  down  into  Scorpius,  and  the 
head  bumps  into  the  head  of  Hercules,  which 
is  on  the  southern  end  of  that  constellation. 
The  serpent  is  more  easily  traced.  Its  head 
is  just  south  of  the  Northern  Crown,  and 
thence  it  winds  down  alongside  the  head  of 
238 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

Hercules,  across  Ophiuchus,  and  up  on  the 
eastern  side  of  him  to  Aquila.  It  is  a  distinct 
and  pretty  line  of  small  stars,  fairly  close  to- 
gether and  sometimes  almost  in  pairs,  wind- 
ing around  through  this  region  of  the  skies; 
and  it  is  particularly  well  defined  in  August 
and  September,  when  it  is  rather  low  in  the 
southern  heavens. 

CAPRICORNUS 

Capricornus,  or  the  Goat,  is  the  tenth  sign 
and  eleventh  constellation  of  the  Zodiac, 
and  lies  southeast  of  Aquila.  The  sun  oc- 
cupies it  from  January  i8th  to  February  i4th. 
It  has  no  conspicuous  stars,  and  no  figure 
definitely  outlined  that  can  be  described; 
and  yet  on  a  clear  night  the  comparatively 
faint  stars  dancing  about  in  it  are  sometimes 
suggestive  of  a  capering  goat,  if  one  does  not 
try  to  be  too  definite.  Alpha  and  Beta, 
which  are  in  the  head  of  the  Goat,  are  about 
twenty  degrees  south  of  Altair  and  point 
towards  it.  They  are  about  two  and  one- 
half  degrees  apart,  and  are  attractive  out 
of  all  proportion  to  their  brilliancy.  Near 
Alpha  is  a  faint  fifth  magnitude  star  that  is 
even  a  better  test  of  vision  than  Alcor. 
239 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

Capricornus  lies  east  of  Sagittarius  and  south 
of  the  Dolphin. 

AQUARIUS 

Aquarius  covers  that  part  of  the  Zodiac 
which  the  sun  occupies  from  February  1 4th  to 
March  i4th.  The  best  time  to  observe  the 
constellation  is  when  it  is  farthest  away  from 
the  sun,  in  August,  September,  October,  and 
November.  It  has  three  stars  of  the  third 
magnitude  and  none  brighter.  It  is  of  a 
peculiar  and  straggling  shape,  extending 
around  Capricornus  on  the  north  and  east. 
The  eastern  part  of  it  is  south  of  Pegasus, 
and  the  western  part  is  south  of  Delphinus. 
It  is  supposed  to  represent  a  man  pouring 
water  from  an  urn.  Its  distinctive  feature 
to  the  naked  eye  is  a  waving  line  of  faint 
twinkling  stars  that  somewhat  suggest  a 
stream  of  water,  and  which  lead  down  to  our 
old  acquaintance  Fomalhaut,  in  the  mouth 
of  the  Southern  Fish  (Piscis  Australis). 
Aquarius  is  the  eleventh  sign  and  the  twelfth 
constellation  of  the  Zodiac. 

PISCIS    AUSTRALIS 

Of  this  constellation  all  we  need  to  know 
240 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

is  that  it  consists  of  Fomalhaut  and  the  few 
fifth  magnitude  stars  surrounding  it. 

CETUS 

Cetus  is  a  large  constellation  lying  almost 
entirely  south  of  the  equator.  It  represents 
a  huge  sea  monster  and  is  sometimes  called 
the  Whale.  The  head,  marked  by  a  small 
triangle  of  stars,  is  on  the  equator  and  lies 
directly  below  Aries,  about  twenty -two 
degrees  south  of  the  principal  star  (Hamel). 
The  body  stretches  along  below  Pisces  and 
down  to  Aquarius,  over  a  distance  of  more 
than  forty  degrees.  The  body  is  outlined 
by  a  four-sided  figure  easily  distinguishable 
in  this  rather  sparsely-starred  region,  and  the 
tail  is  marked  by  the  only  second  magnitude 
star  in  the  constellation — a  rather  pretty 
yellow  star  sometimes  called  Diphda.  The 
most  noted  object  in  Cetus  is  the  star  Mira 
(The  Wonderful),  its  Greek  letter  name  being 
Omicron  Ceti.  It  is  a  remarkable  variable 
star  and  changes  in  light  all  the  way  from 
the  second  to  the  ninth  magnitude.  It  is 
visible  about  two  months  out  of  every  year, 
and  reaches  a  certain  maximum  of  brightness 
about  every  eleven  months.  But  astrono- 
241 


THE    FRIENDLY   STARS 

mers  have  not  yet  been  able  to  predict  how 
bright  it  will  be  at  these  maxima.  Some- 
times it  is  not  much  more  than  visible  and 
sometimes  it  is  of  the  second  magnitude. 
Once,  in  1779,  it  is  reported  to  have  been  as 
bright  as  Aldebaran.  It  has  been  under  ob- 
servation for  three  hundred  years. 

ORION 

Orion  is  the  most  brilliant  of  all  the 
southern  constellations.  It  has  been  fully 
described  in  the  chapter  on  "Orion's  Bright 
Stars."  It  rises  just  after  Taurus  and  is 
visible  from  late  October  to  May. 

LEPUS 

Lepus,  or  the  Hare,  is  a  small  constellation 
just  south  of  Orion.  It  is  very  pretty  in  the 
winter,  but  too  low  down  in  the  sky  to  be 
seen  clearly  except  when  Orion  is  well  up  in 
the  heavens. 

ERIDANUS 

Eridanus  is  a  stream  of  stars  beginning 
just  west  of  the  Orion  Nebula  and  meander- 
ing west  and  south  among  the  stars  until  it 
242 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

is  lost  below  the  southern  horizon.  Achernar 
is  its  only  first  magnitude  star,  and  this  is 
too  far  south  for  us  to  see  it.  Though  most 
of  the  stars  are  faint,  the  constellation  is 
easily  traced  because  so  few  stars  are  near  it. 

CANIS  MAJOR 

Canis  Major,  or  the  Great  Dog,  lies  just 
east  of  Lepus  and  south  of  Monoceros.  It 
can  always  be  known  by  its  bright  star, 
Sinus.  It  represents  a  dog  standing  on  his 
hind  feet  and  pawing  in  the  air  in  front  of 
Lepus,  the  Hare.  Sirius  marks  the  nose  of 
the  dog ;  Adara,  a  star  nearly  as  bright  as  the 
first  magnitude,  is  in  the  flank;  and  Mirzam, 
or  Beta,  scarcely  less  bright,  is  in  one  fore- 
paw.  There  are  two  other  second  magni- 
tude stars,  making  the  constellation,  as  a 
whole,  one  of  considerable  brilliancy,  even 
without  the  great  Sirius.  It  contains  forty- 
one  stars  that  can  be  seen  without  a  glass. 

HYDRA 

Hydra,  the  Water  Snake,  is  a  straggling 
constellation  that  covers  between  ninety  and 
one  hundred  degrees  in  its  length,  and  has 
243 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

but  one  star  of  any  considerable  brightness. 
This  is  a  second  magnitude  star,  sometimes 
known  as  Cor  Hydras  (the  Heart  of  the 
Snake),  sometimes  as  Alpha  Hydrae,  and 
sometimes  as  Alphard,  the  Solitary.  It  is  a 
reddish  star,  about  twenty  degrees  south  and 
a  little  west  of  Regulus;  and,  as  its  name 
indicates,  it  has  no  other  bright  star  very 
near  it. 

Cor  Hydrae  rises  about  half  an  hour  later 
than  Regulus,  reaches  the  meridian  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  earlier,  and  sets  two  and 
one-half  hours  before  Regulus  disappears. 
The  Water  Snake  itself  has  its  head  directly 
south  of  Praesepe  in  Cancer  and  about  half- 
way between  Procyon  and  Regulus.  The  body 
runs  southeasterly  (outlined  by  Alphard  and 
numerous  faint  stars),  below  Leo  and  Virgo, 
and  ends  under  Libra.  Except  for  its  one 
bright  star,  Hydra  is  of  no  particular  interest. 

The  back  of  Hydra  serves  as  a  resting- 
place  for  two  very  pretty  constellations  known 
as  Corvus,  the  Crow,  and  Crater,  the  Cup. 
Corvus  is  a  little  to  the  southeast  of  the  star 
Spica,  and  has  four  principal  stars  forming  a 
four-sided  figure  with  a  little  star  out  at  one 
side,  making  the  outline  somewhat  resem- 
ble Libra.  The  four  stars  are  rather  bright 
244 


SOUTHERN    CONSTELLATIONS 

third  magnitude  ones,  and  the  constellation 
is  a  conspicuous  one  during  the  spring  and 
early  summer  months  when  Virgo  and  Leo 
are  in  prominent  places  in  the  sky. 

PISCES 

This  constellation  is  the  twelfth  sign  and 
first  constellation  of  the  Zodiac.  It  has  no 
bright  stars,  and  is  best  described  as  the 
body  of  stars  occupying  the  space  from 
Aquarius  to  Aries  and  running  below  An- 
dromeda and  Pegasus  and  north  of  Cetus. 
It  is  supposed  to  represent  two  fishes  tied 
together  with  ribbons,  a  very  inappropriate 
combination;  and  it  is  not  impossible  to 
imagine  that  the  faint  stars  running  through 
it  do  outline  something  of  the  sort,  but  cer- 
tainly not  with  any  definiteness.  It  is  in 
no  way  to  be  confused  with  Piscis  Australis, 
or  the  Southern  Fish,  which  is  an  entirely 
different  constellation.  The  most  important 
thing  about  Pisces  is  that  in  it  lies  the  point 
where  the  ecliptic,  or  path  of  the  sun,  crosses 
the  equator.  This  point  is  passed  by  the 
sun  on  its  way  north  in  the  spring  and  is 
called  the  vernal  equinox.  The  line  running 
from  one  pole  to  the  other  and  passing 
245 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

through  the  vernal  equinox  is  the  one  from 
which  astronomers  measure  the  right  as- 
cension of  the  stars  (equivalent  to  longitude 
on  the  earth).  For  this  reason  Pisces  is  an 
interesting  constellation,  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  it  has  no  bright  star  to  mark 
so  important  a  point. 


XXX 

INDIVIDUALITY   OF   THE    STARS 

WE  ought  now  to  begin  to  feel  at  home 
in  the  presence  of  the  general  company 
of  stars.  We  have  been  introduced  to  most 
of  the  choicer  and  greater  individuals  among 
them  and  have  had  a  general  view  of  their 
brilliant  assemblage  as  it  appears  from  night 
to  night  and  from  season  to  season  and  a 
slight  insight  into  their  common  life.  If 
any  permanent  relation  is  to  ensue  we  must 
now — each  for  himself — make  our  own  friends 
among  them.  What  most  interests  one  may 
not  most  interest  another.  We  do  not  feel 
alike  in  regard  to  people  or  other  objects  in 
nature,  why  should  we  in  regard  to  the 
stars  ?  The  more  of  individuality  any  thing 
or  person  has,  the  surer  are  we  to  have  a 
decided  feeling  of  attraction  or  repulsion  for 
it,  a  readiness  to  admit  it  to  our  regard  or 
to  let  it  pass  with  the  unnumbered  individuals 
that  make  no  impression  upon  us. 
247 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

More  than  any  other  natural  objects,  the 
stars,  as  they  appear  to  us  in  the  skies,  seem 
to  me  to  have  individuality.  Each  lovely 
flower  that  we  see  is  one  of  a  species,  and 
however  much  character  we  may  find  in  the 
species,  every  individual  is  known  only  by 
its  being  a  duplicate  of  thousands  of  others 
in  petal,  sepal,  stamen,  and  anther.  The  shy 
hermit-thrush  and  the  friendly  robin  in  their 
perfect  normal  state  must  conform  to  their 
kind  even  to  the  color  of  their  bills.  But 
there  is  only  one  Vega,  one  Capella,  one 
Arcturus,  and  they  are  no  more  duplicated 
in  nature  than  they  are  in  name. 

What  the  general  character  of  a  star  seems 
to  us  depends  upon  ourselves,  the  peculiari- 
ties to  which  we  are  sensitive  and  the  play 
our  fancy  takes  in  the  interpretation  of  them. 
But  the  traits  which  go  to  make  up  this 
general  character  have  their  basis  in  facts 
and  are  by  no  means  products  of  a  freakish 
imagination.  Nearly  every  one  has  some 
sensitiveness  to  color  and  will  receive  an  im- 
pression when  he  marks  An  tares  as  red, 
Vega  as  bluish,  Castor  as  tinged  with  green, 
and  the  various  other  stars  as  having  their 
own  peculiar  -tints.  This  will  have  an  addi- 
tional meaning,  perhaps,  when  he  remembers 
248 


INDIVIDUALITY    OF    THE    STARS 

that  these  great  white  stars  with  tints  of 
various  colors  are  really  in  an  early  stage  of 
existence  in  the  life  of  a  star,  that  they  are 
indeed  youthful,  that  their  intense  twinkling 
and  dancing  light  is  in  keeping  with  their  age. 
It  will  then  be  but  natural  to  remember  that 
Capella,  Procyon,  Pollux,  and  Arcturus  and 
the  other  stars  of  a  like  yellow  hue  are  the 
mature  stars  and  very  properly  have  a  sedate 
manner  of  shining,  with  a  somewhat  steadier 
light  and  less  scintillation ;  and  that  An  tares, 
Betelgeuse,  and  Aldebaran  are  the  Nestors 
among  the  stars,  with  still  less  motion  in 
their  rays  and  less  animation  in  their  general 
aspect,  Betelgeuse  even  going  so  far  as  to 
let  his  eyelids  droop  at  intervals  and  thus 
become  a  variable  star,  which  is  thought  to 
be  one  of  the  marks  of  advanced  age  in  star 
life. 

Color  carries  with  it  also  some  impression 
of  the  actual  substance  of  a  star  when  one 
has  learned  that  the  fair  stars  of  the  Sirian 
type  are  probably  light  in  mass  in  com- 
parison with  their  brilliancy ;  that  those  more 
or  less  of  the  solar  type,  like  Procyon,  Polaris, 
and  Capella,  are  of  somewhat  more  sub- 
stantial composition,  tending  away  from  the 
volatility  of  youth  and  probably  sending  out 
249 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

more  heat  in  proportion  to  their  brilliancy 
than  the  lighter,  more  tenuous,  and  younger 
stars ;  and  that  the  red  stars,  of  which  An  tares 
is  a  type,  are  still  more  compact,  still  less 
brilliant,  and  in  their  natural  evolution  are 
growing  all  the  time  to  have  less  of  sparkle 
and  more  of  solidity. 

One  must  also  get  some  impression  of  in- 
dividuality as  he  learns  something  of  the  mo- 
tion and  distance  and  dimensions  of  a  star. 
Our  personal  estimate  of  a  star  and  relation  to 
it  cannot  but  be  influenced  by  such  facts  as 
that  Altair  is  comparatively  near  us,  while 
Deneb  and  Spica,  which  can  be  seen  at  the 
same  time,  are  unmeasured,  and  so  far  as  we 
know  unmeasurable,  distances  from  us ;  that 
one  star  whirls  over  its  orbit  in  seven  hours 
and  another  spends  hundreds  of  years  ac- 
complishing the  same  task;  that  one  flies  at 
the  rate  of  two  hundred  miles  in  a  second  and 
another  loiters  along  at  a  pace  scores  of  times 
slower;  that  one  is  plunging  towards  us, 
another  is  receding  from  us,  and  that  what- 
ever its  rate  or  direction,  each  is  pursuing  its 
own  peculiar  path. 

The  length  of  its  stay  with  us,  the  time  of 
year  that  we  see  it  most,  and  the  personal 
association  we  have  with  it  must  also  have 
250 


INDIVIDUALITY    OF    THE    STARS 

some  effect  on  our  relation  to  a  star.  There 
must  always  be  less  of  intimate  pleasure  in 
the  presence  of  a  star  like  Fomalhaut,  for 
instance,  which  comes  for  only  a  few  months 
each  year  and  makes  a  short,  swift  passage 
along  the  southern  edge  of  our  skies,  than 
with  such  stars  as  Capella  and  Vega,  who 
turn  their  shining  faces  towards  us  through- 
out the  entire  night  so  many  months  in  the 
year.  There  is  likely  to  be  more  warmth  of 
feeling  for  the  bright  Spica,  who  shines  dur- 
ing all  the  rich  soft  nights  of  summer,  than 
for  the  equally  bright  Rigel,  who  dances 
along  almost  exactly  the  same  path  during 
the  cold,  crisp  winter  nights.  Certain  stars 
that  may  have  the  intensest  charm  and  com- 
panionability  for  us  if  we  first  learn  to  know 
them  as  they  hang  during  the  rich  black 
nights  under  the  great  dome  that  arches  over 
spacious  fields  and  valleys,  may  scarcely  at- 
tract a  passing  thought  from  us  if  we  meet 
them  first  in  the  narrow  alleyways  of  the 
city  streets,  or  even  in  the  hazy,  half-lighted 
atmosphere  that  envelops  the  higher  points 
in  the  city. 

Even  the  name  of  a  star  imparts  some 
flavor  to  one's  general  notion  of  it.  Some 
names  are  essentially  feminine,  some  dis- 

251 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 

tinctly  masculine,  some  have  a  meaning 
that  cannot  be  overlooked,  and  some  appeal 
to  one's  fancy  by  mere  association  of  sound. 
As  we  come  into  closer  acquaintance  with 
the  stars  and  give  heed  to  them,  such 
characterization  comes  about  as  naturally 
as  it  does  with  any  other  objects  that  play 
into  our  lives.  In  my  journal  of  out-door 
things  I  find  mention  of  perhaps  thirty  or 
more  stars  that  seem  to  me  to  have  well- 
defined  traits  which  are  indissolubly  attached 
to  my  idea  of  the  star.  An  tares,  for  example, 
seems  old  but  important  and  impressive, 
Capella  fair  and  mature,  Vega  young  and 
fresh  and  joyous,  Arcturus  full  of  dignity, 
Sirius  brilliant  without  much  impressiveness, 
Betelgeuse  gloomy  even  to  the  point  of  being 
foreboding,  and  suggestive  of  the  sullen  red- 
ness of  the  light  before  whose  warning  eye 
the  swift  electric  trains  come  to  a  dead 
stop.  Dubhe  and  Merak  seem  fair  and  smil- 
ing as  they  graciously  point  the  way  to  the 
North  Star,  Mizar  suggests  friendliness,  Alcor 
faithfulness,  Aldebaran  sturdiness,  the  Ple- 
iades delicate  charm,  Fomalhaut  serenity, 
Castor  and  Pollux  gentleness  and  kindness 
and  affection,  Mira  instability,  and  Polaris 
its  opposite — stability  and  responsibility. 
252 


INDIVIDUALITY   OF    THE    STARS 

Many  more  might  be  added  to  this  list, 
but  I  have  no  desire  or  expectation  that 
others  may  have  the  same  impressions  that  I 
have  concerning  individual  stars.  Circum- 
stances may  lead  them  to  lay  stress  upon 
quite  different  traits  which  are  as  truly 
characteristic  of  the  star  as  the  ones  which 
have  appealed  most  to  me.  These  have  been 
mentioned  to  indicate  the  pleasant  familiarity 
that  one  may  come  into  with  the  individuals 
composing  this  great  body  of  nature  that  is 
before  our  eyes  every  night  of  our  lives,  and 
to  create  this  sort  of  an  interest  in  them  is 
the  sole  aim  of  this  book. 

17 


INDEX 


ACHERNAR,  pronunciation, 
18;  brilliancy,  19,  21; 
meaning  of  name,  13 1 ; 
magnitude,  143;  in  the 
constellation  Eridanus, 

243- 

Adara,  brilliancy,  191;  in 
Canis  Major,  243. 

Albireo,  a  double  star,  58, 
62,  63. 

Alcaid,  in  Great  Dipper, 
191;  brilliancy,  191,  192; 
meaning  of  name,  192; 
location,  ibid. 

Alcor,  companion  to  Mizar, 
137,  195;  brilliancy,  220. 

Alcyone,  brilliancy,  224- 
226. 

Aldebaran,  pronunciation, 
19;  "royal"  star,  81, 
86;  chapter  xi.,  83- 
88;  winter  star,  83; 
location,  84,  85;  mean- 
ing of  name,  85;  color, 
86;  when  visible,  86,  87; 
brilliancy,  87,  92;  lies 
in  moon's  path,  88;  in 
constellation  Taurus,  89, 
217;  rising  of ,  9 1 ;  magni- 
tude, 144. 

Alderamin.  See  Alpha 
Cephei. 


Algenib,  or  Gamma  Pegasi, 
in  the  square  of  Pegasus, 
210. 

Algol,  magnitude,  214; 
known  as  "the  demon 
star,"  and  the  slow- 
winking  star,  ibid.;  ris- 
ing of,  215. 

Alioth,  in  the  Great  Dipper 
190;  magnitude,  190, 
191,  194. 

Alpha  Andromedae  (Al- 
pheratz),  210,  212. 

Alpha  Cassiopeiae,  magni- 
tude, 197,  198,  some- 
times known  as  Schedar, 
199. 

Alpha  Centauri,  pronunci- 
ation, 18;  brilliancy,  19, 
53,  54;  nearness  to 
earth,  20,  61,  148,  158; 
sometimes  called  Prox- 
ima,  21 ;  Southern  Star, 
53;  magnitude,  143;  a 
double  star,  169. 

Alpha  Cephei,  location, 
199. 

Alpha  Crucis,  pronunci- 
ation, 19;  brilliancy,  21; 
magnitude,  143. 

Alpha  Pegasi,  sometimes 
called  Markab,  209,  210. 


255 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


Alpha  Persei  or  Mirfak,  in 
the  segment  of  Perseus, 
214. 

Alphecca  (Alpha  Coronae), 
rising  of,  204;  chief  star 
in  Corona  Borealis,  204. 

Alpheratz,  or  Alpha  An- 
dromedae,  in  Pegasus, 
210,  212. 

Altair,  pronunciation,  18; 
chapter  viii.,  63-70; 
how  to  locate,  63 ;  in  the 
constellation  Aquila,  63, 
207;  brilliancy,  65,  69, 
70;  when  visible,  66— 
68 ;  development,  69 ; 
distance  from  the  earth, 
70;  brightness,  91,  92; 
magnitude  •,  143. 

Ancient  astronomers,  131, 

132,  139- 

Ancient  constellations,  179. 

Andromeda,  the  constella- 
tion, 211 ;  diagram,  212; 
famous  nebula,  2 1 3 . 

Antares,  time  of  departure, 
3 ;  Southern  Star,  13 ;  pro- 
nunciation, 19;  chapter 
ix.,  71-77;  location,  71; 
Southern  Star,  73;  when 
visible,  73,  74;  color,  75, 
86;  distance  from  the 
earth,  77,  158;  "royal" 
star,  8 1,  86;  magnitude, 
144;  in  the  constellation 
Scorpius,  236. 

Approximate  distances  be- 
tween the  stars,  how  to, 
25,  26. 

Aquarius,  best  time  to 
observe,  240. 

Aquila,  stars  of,  63,  207; 
represents  an  eagle,  208. 


Arcturus,  splendor,  3  ;  pro- 
nunciation, 18;  chap- 
ter iv.,  37-43;  how  to 
locate,  3  7 ;  rising  time, 
38,  39;  brilliancy,  40, 
41,  93,  158,  203;  color, 
40;  diameter,  41;  heat 
from,  42;  speed,  ibid.; 
in  the  constellation 
Bootes,  43,  203;  when 
invisible,  50;  magnitude, 
143;  distance  from  the 
earth,  158;  part  of  the 
diamond  Virgo,  235. 

Arided.     See   Deneb. 

Aries,  first  sign  of  the 
Zodiac,  216;  chief  stars 
of,  216,  217. 

Asterope,  location,  227;  a 
double  star,  ibid. 

Astronomers,  ancient,  131, 
132,  139;  modern,  140, 
141. 

Atlas,  one  of  the  brightest 
stars  in  the  Pleiades, 
226;  a  double  star,  227. 

Auriga,  stars  in,  215. 

BELLATRIX,  in  Orion,  94. 

Benetnasch.     See  Alcaid. 

Berenice's  Hair,  cluster  of 
stars  called,  232. 

Beta  Andromedae  or  Mir- 
ach,  212,  213. 

Beta  Aquilse,   207. 

Beta  Anetis,  or  Sheratan, 
magnitude  'of,  217. 

Beta  Aurigae,  or  Menkali- 
n an, a  quaternary  system, 
174;  magnitude,  215. 

Beta  Cassiopeias,  magni- 
tude, 197;  formerly 
known  as  Caph,  199. 


256 


INDEX 


Beta  Centauri,  pronunci- 
ation, 18;  brilliancy,  19, 
21 ;  magnitude,  144. 

Beta  Cephei,  location,  199. 

Beta  Draconis,  magnitude, 
201. 

Beta  Leonis,  or  Denebola, 
in  Leo,  232. 

Beta  Pegasi,  brilliancy, 
209. 

Beta  Ursae  Minoris,  some- 
times called  Kochab,  in 
the  Little  Dipper,  187. 

Betelgeuse,  brilliancy,  4, 
92;  pronunciation,  19; 
a  winter  star,  83 ;  in  the 
constellation  Orion,  91; 
rising,  91,  92,  94; 
color,  91,  93;  distance 
from  the  earth,  93 ; 
course,  94;  magnitude, 

143- 

Binary  systems,  34,  77, 
95,  167,  168,  172-176, 
189,  193,  196,  198,  214. 

Bootes,  location,  203. 

British  Association  Cata- 
logue, the,  132. 

CANCER,  fourth  sign  of  the 
Zodiac,  23 1 ;  Praesepe  in, 
ibid. 

Canes  Venatici,  location, 
2 02, represents  two  hunt- 
ing-dogs, 203. 

Canis  Major,  or  the  Great 
Dog,  brightest  stars  in, 
203,  243- 

Canopus,  pronunciation,  1 8 ; 
brilliancy,  19,  53,  158; 
ran  away  with  one  of  the 
Pleiades,  20;  size,  41; 
Southern  Star,  53 ;  mag- 


nitude, 143  ;  distance 
from  the  earth,  150,  158. 

Capella,  pronunciation, 
18;  chapter  iii.,  30-36; 
how  to  find,  30;  brill- 
iancy, 4,  31,  33,  215; 
rising  time,  32;  color, 
33;  not  inhabited,  34;  a 
double  star,  ibid.;  shape, 
35;  in  the  constellation 
Auriga,  36;  when  visible, 
60;  magnitude,  143. 

Caph.  See  Beta  Cassiopeiae. 

Capricornus,  or  the  Goat, 
tenth  sign  of  the  Zodiac, 
239;  location,  240. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  quoted, 
179. 

Cassiopeia,  stars  in,  197, 
198;  shape,  197. 

Castor,  in  Gemini,  21,  98, 
134;  brilliancy,  99,  134, 
191;  rising,  99;  course, 
100;  reputation,  lot,  dis- 
tance from  the  earth, 
1 02 ;  speed,  104;  a  double 
star,  104,  162,  166. 

Celaeno,  location,  227 ;  mag- 
nitude, 228. 

Cepheus,  location,  199; 
stars  in,  ibid. 

Cetus,  the  Whale,  stars  in, 
241. 

Concerning  the  brightest 
stars,  chapter  ii.,  17-26. 

Constellations,  the,  Great 
Dipper,  u,  22,  24,  29, 
37,  49,  135,  136,  188- 
196;  Pleiades,  20,  85,  97, 
219-228;  Auriga,  36; 
Bootes,  43,  203,  235; 
Virgo,  46,  47,  234,  235; 
Lyra,  52,  179,  206; 


257 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


Cygnus,  58,  61,  62,  207; 
Aquila,  63,  207,  208; 
Dolphin,  65,  66,  208; 
Scorpius,  71,  72,  76, 
179,  236;  Southern  Fish, 
79,  240,  245;  Orion,  84, 
89-97,  T79»  242;  Taurus, 
84,  89,  97,  132,  217,  218; 
Gemini,  98-105,  229; 
Great  Dog,  106,  191; 
Little  Dog,  106,  113; 
Leo,  or  Lion,  121,  122, 
179,  231,  232;  GreatBear, 
22,  135,  179,  188-196; 
chapter  xxi.,  177-181; 
Draco,  179;  Cassiopeia, 
179,  197,  198;  ancient, 
179;  modern,  180;  Little 
Bear,  182-187;  Great 
Bear,  188-196;  Cepheus, 
199;  Dragon,  200,  201; 
Canes  Venatici,  202;  Co- 
rona Borealis,  204;  Her- 
cules, 204-206;  Sagitta, 
208;  Pegasus,  209-211; 
Andromeda,  211  -  213; 
Perseus,  212-214;  Au- 
riga, 214;  Triangulum, 
2 15;  Aries,  216,  217;  Ca- 
nis  Minor,  230;  Cancer, 
23 1 ;  Coma  Berenices, 
232,  233;  Southern,  234- 
246;  Libra,  235,  236;  Sag- 
ittarius, 237;  Ophiuchus 
and  Serpens,  238,  239; 
Capricornus,  239,  240; 
Aquarius, 2 40;  Cetus,24i, 
242;  Lepus,  242;  Erid- 
anus,  242;  Canis  Major, 
243;  Hydra,  243,  244; 
Corvus,  244;  Crater,  244; 
Pisces,  245,  246. 
Cor  Caroli,  meaning  of 


name,   202;  part  of  the 

diamond  of  Virgo,  235. 
Cor    Hydrae,    only    bright 

star  in  Hydra,  244. 
Corona  Borealis,  location, 

204,  chief  star  in,  ibid. 
Corvus,  the  Crow,  244. 
"Cosmical  fog,"  a,  222. 
Crater,  the  Cup,  244. 
Cygni,   61;  nearest  star  to 

the  earth,    61,   62,    133, 

134,   148,   158. 
Cygnus,  or  the  Swan,   58, 

61,   62,   207. 
Cynosura      (Polaris),     the 

end  of  the  dog's  tail,  185. 

DARK  stars,  126,  127. 

Delta  Andromedae,  magni- 
tude, 212,  213. 

Delta  Cassiopeiae,  magni- 
tude, 198. 

Delta  Leonis,  or  Zosma,  in 
Leo,  232. 

Delta  Pegasi   (Alpheratz), 

2IO. 

"Demon  star,"  the,  Algol 
known  as,  214. 

Deneb,  or  Arided,  head  of 
Northern  Cross,  n,  57, 
58;  pronunciation,  19; 
chapter  vii.,  55-62;  ris- 
ing time,  55;  when  vis- 
ible, 56,  60,  61;  in  the 
constellation  Cygnus,  58; 
61;  meaning  of  name, 
59;  brilliancy,  ibid.;  dis- 
tance from  earth,  60,  61 ; 
color,  60 ;  magnitude, 
144. 

Denebola,  or  Beta  Leonis, 
location,  122,  232,  mean- 
ing of  name,  131;  part  of 


258 


INDEX 


the  diamond  of  Virgo, 
235. 

Diphda,  in  Cetus,  241. 

Distance  of  the  stars,  chap- 
ter xix.,  148-161. 

Dolphin,  the,  or  Job's 
Coffin,  stars  of,  65,  66, 
208. 

Double  stars,  34,  47,  54, 
62,  77,  88,  94,  95,  104, 
113,  115,  162,  176,  189, 
193,  195,  196,  198,  206, 
214,  227. 

Draco,  location,  200;  stars 
in,  201. 

Dragon,  the,   200,   201. 

Dubhe,  in  Great  Dipper, 
192;  meaning  of  name, 
ibid.;  a  double  star,  193; 
location,  ibid. 

EARTH,  the,  distance  of 
from  the  sun,  213. 

Ecliptic,  the,  46. 

Electra,  location,  2 26;  brill- 
iancy, 228. 

Emerson  quoted,  6,  7. 

Enif,    or    Epsilon    Pe 
210. 

Epsilon  Cassiopeiae,  magni- 
tude, 198. 

Epsilon  Lyras,  a  double 
star,  163,  174. 

Epsilon  Pegasi,  or  Enif, 
210. 

Eridanus,  location,  242; 
stars  in,  243. 

Eta  Aquilae,  a  variable 
star,  207. 

Eta  Cassiopeiae,  a  double 
star,  198. 

Etamin.  See  Gamma  Dra- 
conis 


'egasi, 


FOMALHAUT,  when  visible, 
3,  12;  Southern  Star,  13; 
pronunciation,  19; 
chapter  x.,  78-82;  loca- 
tion, 78;  brilliancy,  80, 
82;  rising  time,  80, 
81;  "royal"  star,  81; 
nearness  to  earth,  ibid.; 
magnitude,  144. 

GALILEO,  first  telescope  of, 
169. 

Gamma  Andromedas,  or 
Almach,  213. 

Gamma  Aquilae,   207. 

Gamma  Cassiopeiae,  mag- 
nitude, 197. 

Gamma  Draconis,  magni- 
tude, 20 1. 

Gamma  Pegasi,  or  Algenib, 
210. 

Gamma  Ursae  Minoris,  187. 

Gemini,  chief  stars  in,  98, 
101,  134,  229;  third  sign 
of  the  Zodiac,  229. 

Goat,  the,  or  Capricornus, 

239- 

Great  Bear  (Ursa  Major), 
the,  stars  of,  form  the 
Great  Dipper,  22,  135, 
1 88;  always  visible,  189. 

Great  Dipper, the,  stars  of, 
n,  22,  29;  relative  posi- 
tion of  the  North  Star 
and,  24 ;  base  from  which 
to  work,  29,  30,  37,  49; 
brilliancy  of  stars  of, 
135;  when  visible,  136; 
the  seven  stars  forming, 
190-196. 

Great  Dog  (Canis  Major), 
the,  bright  star  in,  106, 
191. 


259 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


Gravitation  universal,  171. 
Groombridge      1830,      the 

runaway  star,  133,  161, 

189. 

HAMEL,  chief  star  in  Aries, 
217. 

Harvard  Catalogue,  the, 
191. 

Harvard  Observatory,  the, 
photometric  measure- 
ments made  at,  140. 

Harvard  Photometry,  132, 
141. 

Heavenly  Twins,  the,  chap- 
ter xiii.,  98-105. 

Hercules,  location,  204; 
diagram,  205;  stars  of, 
206. 

Herschel's  study  of  double 
stars,  170,  191. 

How  to  estimate  distances 
between  the  stars,  25,26. 

Hunting  -  dogs,  the,  loca- 
tion, 202. 

Hyades,  the,  84,  217,  218. 

Hydra,  the  Water  Snake, 
243 ;  one  bright  star  in, 
244. 

IDENTIFY  stars,  best  time 

to,  8. 
Individuality  of  the  stars, 

chapter   xxx.,    247-253. 
Introduction,   1-7. 
Introductory       note       by 

Harold  Jacoby,  xi. 

JACOB Y,  HAROLD,  introduc- 
tory note  by,  xi. 

Job's  Coffin,  or  the  Dol- 
phin, 65,  66,  208. 

Jupiter,  the  planet,  26-28. 


KAPPA  CASSIOPEIA,  magni- 
tude, 197,  198. 

Kochab.  See  Beta  Ursae 
Minoris. 

LALANDE  21,185,  Cata- 
logue, 132;  nearest 
northern  star  to  the 
earth,  133,  148,  158,  189. 

Leo,  or  the  Lion,  Regulus 
in,  121 ;  Denebola  in, 
122;  beauty  of,  179;  fifth 
sign  of  the  Zodiac,  23 1 ; 
stars  in,  232. 

"Leonids,"  meteors  called, 

122. 

Lepus,  or  the  Hare,  242. 

Libra,  or  the  Scales,  235; 
magnitude  of  stars  in, 
236. 

Light,  of  the  stars,  chap- 
ter xviii.,  138-147;  rate 
of  speed  of,  154. 

Little  Bear  (Ursa  Minor), 
the,  chapter  xxii.,  182- 
187;  north  pole  within 
its  boundaries,  182; 
Polaris,  brightest  star  in, 
185 ;  Little  Dipper  111,187. 

Little  Dipper,  the,  85,  186, 
187. 

Little  Dog  (Canis  Minor), 
the,  bright  stars  in,  113, 
114. 

Lost  Pleiad,  the,  20,  226, 
227. 

Lucid  stars,  124. 

Lyra,  chief  star  in,  52,  206; 
beauty,  179. 


MAIA,  location,  226. 
Magnitude    of    the    stars, 
141-146. 


260 


INDEX 


Markab,  or  Alpha  Pegasi, 

209,   210. 

Mars,    the    planet,    26-29. 
Measuring  the  distance  of 

stars,  150,  156,  157. 
Megrez,  location,  190,  191; 

brilliancy,    194. 
Menkalinan,  or  Beta  Auri- 

gas,   215. 
Merak,  in    Great    Dipper, 

J93- 

Mercury,  the  planet,  27. 

Meridian,  the  meaning  of, 
56. 

Merope,  location,  227; brill- 
iancy, 228. 

Meteors,  called  "Leo- 
nids," 122. 

Milk  Dipper,  the,  in  constel- 
lation Sagittarius,  237. 

Mira,  the  Wonderful,  in 
Cetus,  241;  magnitude, 
242. 

Mirach,  or  Beta  Androm- 
edae,  213. 

Mirfak,  or  Alpha  Persei, 
214. 

Mirzam,    in    Canis    Major, 

243- 

Mizar,  location,  137,  183, 
194 ;  first  double  star  dis- 
covered, 169,  195,  196; 
quadruple  star,  174;  de- 
velopment, 195. 

Modern  astronomers,  140, 
141;  constellations,  180. 

Monoceros,  the  Horse,  229. 

Moon,  the,  diameter  of, 
221. 

Mythology  of  the  stars,  20, 
52,  59,  76,  89-91,  95,  97, 
98,  100,  105,  107,  165, 

204,    211. 


NAMES  of  the  stars,  chap- 
ter xvii.,  130-137. 
Nebula,  Orion,  95. 
Neptune,    the   planet,    26, 

J55- 

North  pole,  the,  182. 
North     Star,     the.         See 

Polaris. 
Northern    Cross,    the,    n, 

56,   58,   63. 
Northern  Crown,  location, 

204. 
Number  of  stars,  chapter 

xvi.,  123-129;  visible  to 

naked  eye,  123,  146. 

OMICRON  CETI,  or  Mira, 
the  Wonderful,  241 ;  mag- 
nitude, 242. 

Ophiuchus  and  Serpens, 
location,  238;  when  vis- 
ible, 239. 

Orion,  and  a  frosty  night, 
31;  mythology,  76,  84; 
bright  stars  in,  chap- 
ter xii.,  89-97;  sword  of, 
95;  Nebula,  95;  "trape- 
zium," 96;  most  ad- 
mired, ibid.;  when  vis- 
ible, 97. 

Oxford,  photometric  meas- 
urements made  at,  140. 

PARALLAX,  finding  the,  of 
a  star,  150,  156,  157. 

Pegasus,  stars  of,  209,210; 
the  winged  horse,  210. 

Perseus,  segment  of,  211- 
213;  location,  213;  stars 
in,  214,  215. 

Phecda,  in  the  Great  Dip- 
per, 193 ;  brilliancy,,  194; 
location,  ibid. 


261 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


Photography,  use  of  in  as- 
tronomy, 127—129. 

Photometer,  the,  deter- 
mines gradations  in  the 
light  of  stars,  140. 

Photometric  measure- 

ments, at  Harvard,  140, 
143;  Oxford,  140;  how 
expressed,  141,  142. 

Pickering,  Prof.  E.  C., 
work  with  the  photom- 
eter, 140,  192. 

Pisces,  twelfth  sign  of  the 
Zodiac,  245. 

Piscis  Australis,  the  South- 
ern Fish,  79,  240, 

245- 

Planets,  the,  26-29,  155. 

Pleiades,  the,  lost,  20,  226, 
227;  location,  85;  and 
Orion,  97;  the  mystery 
of,  chapter  xxvii.,  219- 
228;  influence  of,  219; 
principal  stars  of,  221, 
222;  time  of  rising,  222; 
number  of  stars  in,  222; 
enwrapped  in  cosmical 
fog,  223;  distance  from 
the  earth,  224,  225; 
brightest  stars  of,  226. 

Pleione,  the  lost  Pleiad, 
226;  magnitude,  228. 

Pnesepe,  a  star  cluster  in 
Cancer,  231. 

Pritchard,  Prof.  Charles  S., 
work  with  the  photom- 
eter, 140. 

Procyon,  pronunciation, 
18;  a  winter  star,  83 ;  the 
smaller  Dog  Star,  109, 
1 13;  location,  114;  mean- 
ing of  name,  ibid.;  near- 
ness to  earth,  115,  158; 


a  double  star,  115;  mag- 
nitude, 143;  in  Canis 
Minor,  230. 

Proxima  (Alpha  Centauri) , 
21. 

Polaris,  basis  from  which 
to  work,  n,  22,  23,  29, 
30.  56,  57,  71;  compared 
with  the  sun,  33;  a 
triple  star,  174,  185; 
nearest  to  the  north 
pole,  183;  brilliancy,  185. 

Pole  Star.    See  Polaris. 

Pollux,  pronunciation,  19; 
winter  star,  83;  in  con- 
stellation Gemini,  98, 
134;  brilliancy,  98,  99, 
134;  rising,  "99;  course, 
100;  reputation,  101; 
distance  from  the  earth, 
102 ;  speed,  104. 

REGULUS,  pronunciation, 
19;  "royal"  star,  81; 
chapter  xv.,  117-122; 
location,  117,  n8;when 
visible,  118-120;  brill- 
iancy, 119,  120;  devel- 
opment, 120;  distance 
from  the  earth,  121,  158; 
in  constellation  Leo,  121, 
23 1 ;  meaning  of  name, 
12 1 ;  magnitude,  144; 
double  star,  162,  163. 

Rigel,  a  southern  star,  13, 
92;  pronunciation,  18; 
a  winter  star,  83 ;  rising 
92,  94;  brilliancy,  92-94; 
location,  92;  color,  93; 
distance  from  the  earth, 
ibid.;  course,  94;  a 
double  star,  94;  magni- 
tude, 143. 


262 


INDEX 


Ring  Nebula,  the,  206. 
Rising  and  setting  of  the 

stars,    the,    chapter    i., 

8-16. 
"Royal"  stars,  81. 

SAGITTA,  location,  208. 

Sagittarius,  ninth  sign  of 
the  Zodiac,  237;  magni- 
tude of  the  stars  in,  238. 

Saiph,  in  Orion,  96. 

Saturn,  the  planet,  26-29. 

Scheat,  in  the  square  of 
Pegasus,  209. 

Schedar.  See  Alpha  Cas- 
siopeiae. 

Scorpius,  beauty  of,  71, 
179;  diagram  of,  72;  star 
in,  236;  eighth  sign  of 
the  Zodiac,  ibid. 

Segment  of  Perseus,  211- 
213. 

Sheratan,  or  Beta  Arietis, 
magnitude  of,  217. 

Sickle,  the,  117,  118,  121. 


Sirius,  departure  of,  3; 
Southern  Star,  12,  13, 
53;  pronunciation,  18; 
brilliancy,  20,  31,  53, 
139,  158,  191;  a  winter 
star,  83;  location,  106; 
the  Dog  Star,  ibid.; 
course,  1 08 ;  when  visible, 
108,  109;  color,  no,  in; 
rising,  1 1 1 ;  develop- 
ment, 112;  distance  from 
the  earth,  112,  150,  158; 
a  double  star,  113,  166; 
magnitude,  143  ;  in 
Canis  Major,  243. 

"Slow-winking  star,'!  the, 
Algol  known  as.  214. 

Sound,  rate  of  speed  of,  155. 

263 


Southern  Cross,  the,  56. 
Southern  Fish  (Piscis  Aus- 
tralis),  the,  79,  240,  245. 
Southern  stars,  13,  19-21, 

3*>   53.   73- 

Spectroscope,  the,  and 
binary  systems,  173-1 7  6, 
185,  189,  196,  214. 

Speed  of  light,  154;  of 
sound,  155. 

Spica,  southern  star,  13 ; 
pronunciation,  19;  chap- 
ter v.,  44-47;  brill- 
iancy, 44,  47;  how  to 
find,  ibid.;  when  visible, 

45,  46;  hour  of  setting, 
46;  in  the  constellation 
Virgo,  46,  234;  color,  46; 
distance  from  the  earth, 

46,  158;     meaning     of 
name,     47;    magnitude, 
144 ;  part  of  the  diamond 
of  Virgo,  235. 

Square    of    Pegasus,    209. 


Star  nearest  to  the  earth, 


20,    61,    133,    134,    148, 
158. 

Stars,  the,  association 
with,  2,  3;  best  time  to 
identify,  8,  9;  southern, 
13,  19-21 ;  time  of  rising 
and  setting,  13-16; 
brightest,  17-29;  pro- 
nunciation, 1 8,  19;  near- 
est to  earth,  20,  61,  62, 
112,  115,  133,  134,  189, 
198;  mythology  of,  20, 
52,  59,  76,  89-91,  95,  97, 
98,  100,  101,  105,  107, 
l65>  2355  to  estimate 
distances  between,  25, 
26;  are  suns,  26;  Capella, 
30-36;  binary  systems 


THE    FRIENDLY    STARS 


of,  34,  77,  95,  167,  168, 
172-176,  189,  193,  196, 
198,  214;  double,  34,  47, 
54,  62,  77,  88,  94,  95, 
104,  113,  115,  162-176, 
189,  193,  195,  196,  198, 
206,  214,  227;  Arcturus, 
37-43;  Spica,  44-47; 
Vega,  48-54;  Deneb,  55- 
62;  Altair,  63-70;  Anta- 
res,  71-77;  Fomalhaut, 
78-82,  241;  "royal,"  81, 
86;  Aldebaran,  83-88; 
winter,  83 ;  in  Orion,  89- 
97,  242;  in  Gemini,  98- 
105;  two  Dog,  106-116; 
Regulus,  117-122;  Dene- 
bola,  122;  number  of, 
123-129,  146;  lucid,  124; 
dark,  126;  degrees  of 
brightness  in,  127,  128; 
and  photography,  127- 
129;  names  of,  130-137; 
light  of,  138-147; 
classification  of,  138, 
139,  141;  photometrical 
measurements  of,  140- 
143  ;  light  ratio  of, 
144;  distance  of,  from 
the  earth,  148-161;  in 
the  constellations,  177- 
181;  Polaris,  183-186; 
in  the  Great  Dipper,  190- 
196;  in  Cassiopeia,  197, 
198;  in  Cepheus,  199; 
in  the  Dragon,  200;  in 
Canes  Venatici,  202;  in 
Bootes,  203 ;  in  Corona 
Borealis,  204;  in  Her- 
cules, 204,  205;  in  Lyra, 
206;  in  Aquila,  207;  in 
the  Dolphin,  208;  in 
Sagitta,  208;  in  Pegasus, 


209,  2ii ;  in  Androm- 
eda, 211-213;  in  Per- 
seus, 213,  2 1 4 ;  in  Auriga, 
2 1 5 ;  in  Triangulum,  215; 
in  Aries,  216,  217;  in 
Taurus,  217,  218;  in  the 
Pleiades,  219-228;  in 
Gemini,  230;  in  Canis 
Minor,  230;  in  Cancer, 
231 ;  in  Leo,  231,  232 ;  in 
Coma  Berenices,  232; 
in  Virgo,  234,  235;  in 
Libra,  235,  236;  in  Scor- 
pius,  236;  in  Sagittarius, 
237,  238;  Ophiuchus  and 
Serpens,  238,  239; 
in  Capricornus,  239; 
Aquarius,  240;  Piscis 
Australis,  240,  241;  in 
Cetus,  2  4 1 , 2  4  2 ;  in  Lepus, 
2*42;  in  Eridanus,  242; 
in  Canis  Major,  243;  in 
Hydra,  243,  244;  in 
Pisces,  245,  246;  in- 
dividuality of,  247-253. 

Sun,  the,  a  star,  33;  di- 
ameter of,  41;  stars 
brighter  than,  47,  53,  69, 
76,  82,  87,  94,  102,  112 
115,  121,  155;  distance 
from  the  earth  153,  154, 
213. 

Sword  of  Orion,  95. 

TAURUS,  the  Hyades  in, 
84,  218;  and  Orion,  89, 
97;  stars  in,  132;  sec- 
ond sign  of  the  Zodiac, 
217  ;  the  Pleiades  in, 
221. 

Taygeta,  location,  227;  a 
double  star,  ibid. 

Theta  in  Leo,  232. 


264 


INDEX 


Theta  Orionis,  a  double 
star,  169,  174. 

"Three  Kings,"  the,  95. 

Thuban,  formerly  the  Pole 
Star,  201. 

Time  of  rising  and  set- 
ting of  the  stars,  13- 
16. 

Triangulum,  stars  in,  215. 

Two  Dog  Stars,  the,  chap- 
ter xiv..,  106-116. 

URANUS,  the  planet,  26. 

VEGA,  harbinger  of  spring, 
23;  pronunciation,  18; 
compared  with  Arcturus, 
42;  chapter  vi.,  48-54; 


rising,  48,  52;  how  to 
find,  49;  identity,  50; 
when  visible,  51,  53,  60; 
in  constellation  Lyra, 
52,  206;  brilliancy,  53; 
stage  of  development, 
54;  magnitude,  143; 
future  Pole  Star,  184. 
Venus,  the  planet,  26-28 
Virgo,  or  Virgin,  stars  in, 
46,  47,  234,  235;  sixth 
sign  of  the  Zodiac,  234. 

WALT  WHITMAN,  verse  by, 
v. 

ZOSMA,  or  Delta  Leonis,  in 
Leo,  232. 


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